Family and lawyers pay tribute to Tahir Elçi at Four-Legged minaret

Lawyer Tahir Elçi was shot dead in front of the Four-Legged Minaret in the borough of Sur, Amed, while he was making a statement on 28 November 2015.

To commemorate Elçi on the sixth anniversary of his death, lawyers gathered in front of Diyarbakır Courthouse and marched in their robes towards the spot where he was shot.

The front of the courthouse and its surroundings were besieged by the police. Tahir Elçi’s wife Türkan Elçi, his brothers Ömer and Mehmet Elçi, Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-Chair Saliha Aydeniz, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Spokesperson Ebru Günay, Group Deputy Chairman Meral Danış Beştaş, Co-Chair for Legal Affairs. Ümit Dede, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu, HDP former Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş’s wife Başak Demirtaş, Ankara, İzmir, Adana, Mersin, Antalya, Sinop, Aydın and regional bar association presidents were at the front of the march.

A minute’s silence was held in front of the Four-Legged Minaret, where the march ended, at 10.53 am, the time when Elçi was shot. From the sound system installed here, the song “Diyarbakır Türküsü”, which includes the words “I lie down shot in the middle of Diyarbakır. I recognize this sound of bullets everywhere. While my youth is burning in these mountains. The moon hits my tears, I stay in the night,” performed by artist Ahmet Kaya, was played.

Nahit Eren: Human rights and democracy were hit that day in November

Nahit Eren, President of the Amed Bar Association said: “Even though 6 years have passed since this murder, which was the beginning of a dark period, there was no desire and will to discover and bring to justice the perpetrators. Unfortunately, the sense of justice of Elçi’s family, the legal community and society could not be satisfied. From the first moment, many scandalous developments, such as the reluctant attitude of the judicial authorities, the crime scene investigation that was not done, and the lost camera records revealed the existence of a will that does not want this murder to be clarified. As a result of the insistence of the lawyers of the Diyarbakır Bar Association and the Elçi family, an indictment was prepared four and a half years after the murder, and a public case could be filed against three police officers and a member of the organization.”

Türkan Elçi: There is a concrete wall in front of us

Türkan Elçi said: “Today we are again witnessing an impasse in the justice process. In front of us there is a concrete wall. We have been shouting into the deaf ear of justice for 6 years, as if shouting into the emptiness of the world. Who hears us? We still hear the sound of bullets that ended our peace.”

Elçi’s wife continued: “Unless the murderers are punished as they deserve, unless it is ensured that this street, stained with blood, is freed from the dirt and horror of death, what is left for us other than a country that has lost its conscience, is laden with plague, and is pregnant with war for the future. We shout once again for justice, justice, justice to strengthen this inherited legacy.”

After the speeches, red carnations and lollipops were left in front of the Four-Legged Minaret. The commemoration program continues in the afternoon at the grave of Elçi in Yeniköy Cemetery.