The first hearing of 4 defendants, 3 of whom are police officers, accused of the killing of Tahir Elçi in front of the historic Four-Legged Minaret (Dört Ayaklı Minare) on November 28, 2015 during the curfew in Diyarbakır, started at Diyarbakır 10th High Criminal Court. 

 

Prosecutors are seeking from three to nine years for the three police officers in question on charges of “causing death with conscious negligence” whereas seeking three aggravated life sentences for the other fugitive defendant, who is also accused of murdering two police officers that were killed on the same day with Elçi.

 

The vicinity of the courthouse was barricaded by the police before the hearing. Dozens of riot police were ready around and in the courthouse and at least 20 were allowed in the court room.

 

Elçi family, the Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Sezgin Tanrikulu, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MPs Hişyar Özsoy, Necdet İpekyüz, Dersim Dağ, Mehmet Rüştü Tiryaki, independent MP Ahmet Şık,  the European Union (EU) Delegation of Turkey member Sema Kılıçer, Bar Heads of  Diyarbakır, İstanbul, İzmir, Mardin, Antep, Hakkari, Adana, Batman, Urfa, Siirt and Şırnak and dozens of human's rights defenders came together at the courthouse in order to attend the hearing.

 

However only 88 people were allowed in the courtroom including the court board.

 

Before the hearing, Diyarbakır Bar Association President Cihan Aydın submitted a list of 64 lawyers to the court. It drew attention that 20 riot police were present in the courtroom while lawyers and journalists were not allowed..

 

Before the hearing, a list of names was requested regarding the press members who will follow the case.

 

The court allowed pro-government media employees to follow the hearing. Many people whose names were on the list did not attend the hearing.

 

DEFENDANTS WON'T BE BROUGHT TO COURT, WILL BE HEARD WITHOUT A JUDGE

 

The attorneys of Elçi family said that the attendance of the defendants via the SEGBİS system was against the principle of immediacy, as it was also against the Article 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK) and the judgements of the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights. The attorneys requested the reversal of the decision.

 

The court board asked the police officers where they wanted to testify. They stated that they wanted to make their defense where they were and announced that they would not come to the courtroom.

 

The attorneys of Elçi family said that the bill of indictment was prepared as if it had been an ordinary indictment of murder, underlining that Tahir Elçi's vision of human rights, the conditions where he was lynched and the climate created against him were not considered.

 

The court board recessed the hearing for 10 minutes in order to discuss the requests for receiving demands for intervention in the case before hearing the testimonies and for hearing the defendants in courtroom.

 

Following the recess, the court board rejected the request for bringing the defendant police officers to the courtroom by indicating that they did not want to be present in the hearing and that it was possible for the Elçi family's attorneys to ask defendants questions via the SEGBİS system. 

 

It was then understood that delegated judges who had to be present at the courts where the testimonies of defendants would be taken via the SEGBİS system were not there. The court indicated that there was no obligation to have delegated judges and rejected the Elçi family's request for delegated judges and for the testimonies to be taken in a face-to-face interrogation.

 

The attorneys of the Elçi family made statements and protested, saying that the court "was handling a file about the killing of a bar association chair in a negligent manner." The court board left the courtroom for negotiations without making any explanations to the audience.

 

Taking the floor after the recess, Diyarbakır Bar Association Chair Cihan Aydın said, "Mr. Presiding Judge, what we see here today is a behavior that does not suit a judge. We reject all requests on procedural grounds. You recessed the hearing for 3 times. We showed patience in this investigation for 5 years. We will no longer show patience in the face of this unlawfulness. We request a recess for consultation.

 

The court board took another break.

 

13 SECOND VIDEO FOOTAGE IS 'MISSING'

 

Attorney Mahsuni Karaman said that a 13-second part of the video footage captured by police cameras was missing. He previously announced that Tahir Elçi was shot to death within these 13 seconds.

 

Indicating that the video footage focused on two Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants' running towards the Four-Legged Minaret in Diyarbakır, Karaman said, "All video records continue without interruption, the entire process is seen. The only record missing is the record of the Photofilm Bureau. The footage freezes at the moment when Elçi heard the voice and was startled; the same record starts with two militants' entering the street. We compared the video records, there is a 13-second gap, interruption in that record. Tahir Elçi was shot within these 13 seconds."

 

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 were the most likely suspects of the killing.

 

ABOUT THE INDICTMENT

 

The indictment was lodged by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on March 26, 2020 and accepted by the 10th Heavy Penal Court on April 3, 2020. While there are five complainants, including the wife of late lawyer Türkan Elçi, in the 40-page indictment, there are four accused suspects, among whom are also three police officers.

 

Police officers S.T., M.S. and F.T. face the charges of "causing death by culpable negligence" as per the Article 85/1 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The indictment demands 2 to 6 years in prison for the officers.

 

Uğur Yakışır, the other suspect, also faces the charges of "wilful killing, killing with eventual intent, opposition to Law no. 6136 on Firearms and Knives, disrupting the unity of the state and integrity of the country, damaging property." The indictment demands aggravated life sentence for Yakışır, who is also accused of murdering police officers Cengiz Erdur and Ahmet Çiftaslan, who were killed on the same day with Tahir Elçi.

 

BACKGROUND

 

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.