PHOTO: President of Diyarbakır Bar Association Nahit Eren makes a statement outside the Diyarbakır Courthouse ahead of the Elçi murder trial.
DENİZ TEKİN
In the ongoing trial of the murder of Tahir Elçi, former President of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, the court today rejected all requests made by the family's lawyers for further investigation into the killing. The prosecutor, citing the extensive scope of the case file, requested more time to prepare their opinion on the merits. The trial has been adjourned to June 12, 2024.
The 10th hearing of the case concerning the assassination of Tahir Elçi, who was killed following a press statement on Nov. 28, 2015, at the Four-Legged Minaret in Diyarbakır's Sur district, was held today at the Diyarbakır 10th High Criminal Court. Prior to the hearing, heavy security measures were observed both in front of the courtroom and the courthouse. The defendants, police officers Mesut Sevgi, Fuat Tan, and Sinan Tabur, who are being tried without detention, joined the hearing via video conferencing system from Hatay, Elazığ, and Malatya respectively.
In attendance were Tahir Elçi’s wife and CHP Istanbul Deputy Türkan Elçi, his brother Mehmet Elçi, Diyarbakır Bar Association President Nahit Eren, other bar officials, lawyers for the Elçi family, deputies from CHP and DEM Party, representatives from the Tahir Elçi Human Rights Foundation, İHD and ÖHD Diyarbakır branches, Memory Center, lawyers Barbara Porta from Italy's Turin Bar Association, Adrien Verrier from France's Nice Bar Association, Françoise Cotta from the Paris Bar, Ezıo Menzıone from the Pisa Bar, and numerous other lawyers. Many plainclothes police officers also observed the trial.
President Eren of the Diyarbakır Bar Association stressed that it is the court's responsibility to clarify all doubts in the case. He pointed out that the trial is at a stage where investigation and examination requests are not considered, saying, "We are at a stage where our previous requests have been denied by the court. We again request the acceptance of these denied requests. The decision not to conduct a site inspection is incorrect. To physically connect with the crime scene, site inspection is crucial. You haven’t listened to any witnesses in this case outside the parties involved. This file is not in a different place than the investigation file in its current stage. We demand that all aspects of this murder be illuminated. The court is obligated to clear all doubts in the file. We request you to retract your interim decisions that have previously denied our requests."
Lawyer Zahide Beydağı Tıraş Öneri, another attorney for the Elçi family, questioned why the requests for witness hearings and on-site inspections were rejected after the initial hearing, stating, "We don’t believe this case can be illuminated without conducting an on-site inspection and hearing witnesses." Lawyer Günül Çoşkun pointed out that rejecting requests for extended investigation prevents discussion of evidence and clarification of the case. She requested that the malfunctioning recording device from Mardin Kebab House be sent to the company that produced it for examination. Mahsun Batı, President of the Tahir Elçi Human Rights Foundation, recalled that the phones of Uğur Yakışır and Mahsum Gürkan, suspects in the case, were tapped by the police before the murder of Elçi, stressing the need to obtain and investigate these recordings. “A decision that does not establish justice will harm justice. We request you to retract your interim decisions," he added.
Lawyer Muhlis Uğurgül noted that the progress of the Elçi murder case is due to the efforts of the Elçi family's lawyers and the Diyarbakır Bar Association. He suggested, "Provide us the opportunity to examine the evidence more easily. Let’s appoint a lawyer and a judge to oversee the examination of the camera recordings and hard disk. Let’s send it to the California headquarters of the company that made this device for inspection." Lawyer Berfin Elçi, emphasizing their presence in court to uncover the perpetrators of the murder, stated, "As a lawyer, our request is that you do not leave this file unpunished." Lawyer Mehmet Emin Aktar questioned why the court is reluctant to conduct a site inspection, to which the presiding judge responded with a warning to speak courteously.
The defendants, Mesut Sevgi, Fuat Tan, and Sinan Tabur, stated that they had nothing to add.
Following a 15-minute recess, the court announced its decision to grant the prosecutor one final extension to prepare their opinion on the merits and rejected all requests made by the lawyers for the Elçi family. The next hearing is scheduled for June 12, 2024.
After the hearing, statements were made in front of the Diyarbakır Courthouse by the lawyers for the Elçi family, observers of the trial, and Türkan Elçi. Nahit Eren, President of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, said, "All our requests regarding the investigation, examination, and reporting of evidence we find significant have always been rejected by the court panel. Once again, we state that we will continue our legal struggle to ensure that the Tahir Elçi case file, dedicated to fighting against human rights violations and impunity, is not left unpunished." Eren also invited everyone to participate in the decision hearing of the case on June 12.
