Having prepared a report on Tahir Elçi murder, Forensic Architecture says, “The indictment charges the officers we identified, but also charges a PKK militant, despite our findings showing clearly that he could not be responsible for Elçi’s death.”
Forensic Architecture, a research agency based in the University of London which has prepared a detailed report on the killing of Diyarbakır Bar Association Chair Tahir Elçi, has criticized the indictment of the trial.
Diyarbakır Bar Association Chair Tahir Elçi was murdered while making a statement for the press in front of the Four-Legged Minaret in Sur, Diyarbakır on November 28, 2015. The trial over the killing of Elçi started five years after his passing on October 21, 2021.
Criticizing the indictment of the case in reference to its own report, Forensic Architecture has tweeted the following messages:
"On 3 March, the trial of Tahir Elçi's killing reopens. But there is a problem with the indictment. It charges the officers we identified, but also charges a PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party] militant, despite our findings showing clearly that he could not be responsible for Elçi's death.
"In his work, Tahir Elçi was a voice for justice. We join with Amnesty International and HRW and many others across the field of human rights in anticipation and expectation of a just and clear-sighted trial."
Speaking to bianet about the issue, lawyer Nahit Eren previously talked about the problems of the indictment based on anonymous witness:
"The case against the perpetrators of the killed police officers and that of Tahir Elçi murder are heard in the same file, which is not right. We see the two incidents separately, but the fact that they are both in the same file raises suspicions about whether the prosecution will go on efficiently or not.
"A month before the hearing on October 21, the file took a different course with the unanimous witness statement. The anonymous witness said that the member of the organization committed the murder. It shows that there is an attempt to take this file to another course.
"In fact, the report prepared in London indicated that police officers might be the perpetrators. However, five years after the incident, the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, based on the statement of a unanimous witness, wrote the indictment in such a way to suggest that an organization member committed the murder.
Report said 'police officers are suspects'
Forensic Architecture, a research agency based in the University of London, released a report of its investigation into lawyer Tahir Elçi's murder.
The report has concluded that three police officers at the scene of the incident are the most likely suspects of the killing.
Diyarbakır Bar Association Chair Tahir Elçi was shot dead during a press statement near the Sheik Matar Mosque in Sur district of southeastern province Diyarbakır on November 28, 2015.
The Diyarbakır Bar Association presented the report of Forensic Architecture to the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on December 14, 2018.
The next hearing of the trial will be held at the Diyarbakır 10th Heavy Penal Court on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
