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| Prominent Kurdish Lawyer Is Killed in Southeast Turkey | Prominent Kurdish Lawyer Is Killed in Southeast Turkey |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| ISTANBUL — A prominent Kurdish lawyer and a Turkish police officer were killed on Saturday when clashes erupted after he spoke at a news conference in Turkey’s volatile southeast. | |
| The lawyer, Tahir Elci, the president of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, and the police officer were shot by gunmen who opened fire at security forces from a car in the southeastern district of Sur, said the interior minister, Efkan Ala. Another police officer was seriously wounded. | The lawyer, Tahir Elci, the president of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, and the police officer were shot by gunmen who opened fire at security forces from a car in the southeastern district of Sur, said the interior minister, Efkan Ala. Another police officer was seriously wounded. |
| The Diyarbakir Bar Association said in a Twitter message that Mr. Elci had been assassinated. | The Diyarbakir Bar Association said in a Twitter message that Mr. Elci had been assassinated. |
| A video clip posted on the website of the privately owned Dogan news agency showed gunmen hiding behind the minaret of a mosque and firing on Mr. Elci and a group of activists. At least 11 people were wounded in the attack, according to initial reports. | A video clip posted on the website of the privately owned Dogan news agency showed gunmen hiding behind the minaret of a mosque and firing on Mr. Elci and a group of activists. At least 11 people were wounded in the attack, according to initial reports. |
| The semiofficial Anadolu Agency said that Kurdish militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K., had singled out Mr. Elci and a group of lawyers during clashes that broke out between the militants and Turkish security forces after the news conference. | The semiofficial Anadolu Agency said that Kurdish militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K., had singled out Mr. Elci and a group of lawyers during clashes that broke out between the militants and Turkish security forces after the news conference. |
| Kurdish activists denied that claim and said that Mr. Elci had become a target after he was charged last month with supporting Kurdish rebels. | Kurdish activists denied that claim and said that Mr. Elci had become a target after he was charged last month with supporting Kurdish rebels. |
| Violence has surged in the restive southeast since July, with the renewal of an old conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish state, which has claimed nearly 40,000 lives since the 1980s. | Violence has surged in the restive southeast since July, with the renewal of an old conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish state, which has claimed nearly 40,000 lives since the 1980s. |
| “We do not want arms, clashes, operations in this area, which has hosted numerous civilizations,” Mr. Elci said on Saturday in the news conference before the attack. | “We do not want arms, clashes, operations in this area, which has hosted numerous civilizations,” Mr. Elci said on Saturday in the news conference before the attack. |
| President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the reports of Mr. Elci’s death on Saturday and said the attack showed that Turkey was right to pursue its fight against terrorism. | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the reports of Mr. Elci’s death on Saturday and said the attack showed that Turkey was right to pursue its fight against terrorism. |
| Mr. Elci, an outspoken activist who has argued many cases before the European Court of Human Rights, was arrested last month after being charged with terrorist propaganda for saying during a live news program that the P.K.K was not a terrorist organization. | Mr. Elci, an outspoken activist who has argued many cases before the European Court of Human Rights, was arrested last month after being charged with terrorist propaganda for saying during a live news program that the P.K.K was not a terrorist organization. |
| His remarks prompted an outcry from Turkish nationalists, and a Turkish prosecutor said he could be sentenced to more than seven years in prison if convicted. Mr. Elci had been released from detention, pending the opening of this trial. | His remarks prompted an outcry from Turkish nationalists, and a Turkish prosecutor said he could be sentenced to more than seven years in prison if convicted. Mr. Elci had been released from detention, pending the opening of this trial. |
| After he was charged, Mr. Elci said that he had received hundreds of death threats from Turkish nationalists. | |
| “This is just a part of the job,” said Mr. Elci this month. “I’m not afraid, but I know that I am now in danger.” | “This is just a part of the job,” said Mr. Elci this month. “I’m not afraid, but I know that I am now in danger.” |
| “I’ve been getting death threats on a daily basis,” he said at the time. “It’s quite worrying.” | “I’ve been getting death threats on a daily basis,” he said at the time. “It’s quite worrying.” |
| The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, or H.D.P. condemned the attack, describing it as a “planned assassination.” | The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, or H.D.P. condemned the attack, describing it as a “planned assassination.” |
| “In the place left by Tahir Elci, thousands more Tahir Elcis will carry on the work in the struggle for law and justice,” the party said in a written statement, which also called on people to “raise their voices” in protest. | “In the place left by Tahir Elci, thousands more Tahir Elcis will carry on the work in the struggle for law and justice,” the party said in a written statement, which also called on people to “raise their voices” in protest. |