Lawyers commemorate Tahir Elçi five years after his killing

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Lawyers in İstanbul, İzmir and Mersin have commemorated Diyarbakır Bar Chair Tahir Elçi, who was shot dead during a press meeting in the southeastern province on November 28, 2015.

His murder has not yet been solved as a trial began only last month.

Lawyers from the Proggressive Lawyers' Association (ÇHD) and Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÇHD) gathered, showing banners that read, "We won't forget you," "No to police state" and "Tahir Elçi is immortal."

Reading out a statement in front of the Bakırköy Courthouse in İstanbul, ÖHD İstanbul Chair Arzu Eylem Karaoğlu said, "We promise that will never forget Tahir Elçi, who was the lawyer of the Kurdish people and all of the oppressed peoples in Turkey."

Also speaking at the event, ÇHD İstanbul Chair Gökmen Yeşil said that the process that led to the killing of Elçi was planned in advance.

"We have lost Tahir as a result of a political assassination. This was neither the first nor the last political homicide," he said.

However, he added, "new Tahir Elçis are born" in a country where there is "poverty, exploitation and oppression."

"I commemorate our colleague, my brother. Tahir Elçi lives and will live in our struggle. These lands will give birth to many more Tahir Elçis. Those who murdered him should be afraid of us," said Gökmen.

What happened?

Tahir Elçi attended a live TV program on CNN Türk hosted by Ahmet Hakan on October 15, 2015. Elçi said, "The PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party] is not a terrorist organization." While the channel was fined 700 thousand lira over these words, Tahir Elçi was detained in his office in Diyarbakır Bar Association and taken to İstanbul on November 20.

While the prosecutor's office referred Elçi to court with a request for his arrest, the Bakırköy 2nd Heavy Penal Court released him on probation. A bill of indictment was brought against Elçi on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization." Elçi faced up to 7.5 years in prison.

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.