The third hearing of the trial for the killing of Diyarbakir Bar Association President Tahir Elçi will be held today.

In the case opened 4 years after the murder, the accused police officers F.T., S.T. and MS from 3 to 9 years in prison for "causing death by conscious negligence", while the fugitive defendant Uğur Yakışır is charged with the murders of both the Elçi and the police officers Cengiz Erdur and Ahmet Çiftaslan, who were killed on the same day.

The indictment prepared by Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against 4 defendants, 3 of them police officers, was accepted by the Diyarbakır 10th High Criminal Court on 3 April 2020. The first hearing was held on 21 October 2020, and the second hearing was held on 3 March.

Tahir Elçi’s wife, Türkan Elçi, said in a post: "After 5 years, we were threatened with being thrown out at the first hearing of the trial. As a victim, it was very heavy for me. As a result of the never-ending headache complaint, I had an MRI and there were occasional brain haemorrhages."

Background

On 14 October 2015, Tahir Elçi participated in the 'Neutral Zone' program presented by Ahmet Hakan at CNN Türk. Asked by Hakan whether the PKK was a terrorist organization, Elçi answered: "The PKK is not a terrorist organization".

After this program, the prestigious lawyer was exposed to an increasingly common lynching. Six days after the CNN Turk program, Elçi was taken into custody at the Amed Bar Association's legal aid building and taken to Istanbul for testimony. He was released after his testimony: he was to undergo judicial control and was forbidden to go abroad.

On 28 November 2015, Elçi was shot and killed during a press conference in the city of Diyarbakır. It was 10.53 when Elçi was shot at the Four-Legged Minaret with a bullet in the back of his neck.