Top Kurdish lawyer killed in Turkey

He was briefly detained and questioned last month for saying during a live news program that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is not a terrorist organization.

Tahir Elci was the head of the bar in southeastern Diyarbakir province and a campaigner for Kurdish rights.

The killing took place while Tahir Elci was making a statement to the media.

“Our condolences go to his family, that of the policeman killed and to all of Turkey”.

Hundreds of people have been killed since a ceasefire between the PKK and Turkish security forces collapsed in July, reigniting a conflict in which some 40,000 people have died since it began in 1984.

Elci had been a prominent critic of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) government, though he had also criticised the actions of Kurdish militant groups.

“This incident shows how right Turkey is in its determined fight against terrorism”.

A leading pro-Kurdish lawyer has been shot dead in south-eastern Turkey during a gun battle between police and unidentified gunmen.

“A single bullet struck Elci in the head”, Tastan said, adding that 11 people were also wounded in the incident. Bozdag and Ala expressed their condolences.