A criminal complaint has been lodged against some members of Turkey’s Institute of Forensic Medicine over revelations that they tampered with crucial evidence that could have led to a conviction in connection with the murder of Kurdish activist Tahir Elci.
The complaint was lodged on Monday by the Tahir Elci Human Rights Foundation.
Elci was the chairman of the Diyarbakir Bar Association and a pro-Kurdish human rights activist.
The foundation also demanded Turkey’s Ministry of Justice launch an administrative investigation into the ATK officials.
The criminal and administrative complaints came after Bold Medya, an online news portal, published a special report on September 11, which provided the testimony of ATK staff member Mehtap Altug that contained the allegations.
Altug claims that a DNA sample belonging to a male individual was removed on the orders of Yalcin Buyuk, the ATK chairman.
Altug also accused Buyuk of ordering the removal of the evidence from the National Judiciary Informatics System, the official database of Turkey’s judiciary.
According to Altug’s testimony, Buyuk tampered with crucial evidence with the help of deputy chair Omer Muslumanoglu, unit manager Bestami Colak, and specialist Arif Bingol. The four still hold their posts at the institution.
The slain lawyer was shot dead in Sur district of Diyarbakir in November 2015 while he was making a statement calling for an end to violence between the Turkish state and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in a bid to urge both parties to keep clashes away from civilian areas.
During Elci’s press conference, an armed clash between the police and the PKK members took place. At the end of the fight, Elci was found dead, lying on the ground.
The Turkish state blamed Elci’s death on the PKK and its affiliates.
Three cartridges collected by the forensics team at the crime scene narrowed down the possible suspects to three police officers who were at the scene. However, without tje DNA sample, investigators could not pin down the assailant with a ballistics inquiry since it remains unclear which bullet took Elci’s life.
The Diyarbakır Bar Association demanded that a technical investigation from London-based international investigation company, Forensic Architecture (FA), be carried out in order to cast light upon the moment when Elci was shot dead and to find the suspects.
In February, the FA report said Elci might have been shot and killed by a bullet from one of the three police officers at the crime scene. The report did not rule out the possibility of Elci dying of crossfire between the police and the PKK.
Following the FA report, the Diyarbakir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office asked the ATK for a new account on Elci’s murder in March.
The foundation was established in April by Elci’s wife and daughter, Turkan Elci and Nazenin Elci, in Diyarbakir’s Sur district with the aim of unifying the oppressed, whether they are Kurdish, Turkish, Alevis or Sunnis.
The foundation said in its statement on Monday that the Turkish authorities had not initiated any investigations into the matter until its complaints, despite the testimony by Altug and the report by Bold Medya.
Turkey’s forensics chief tampers with murder evidence: Report
The post Criminal complaint filed against forensic officials in connection with slain Kurdish activist appeared first on IPA NEWS.
from IPA NEWS https://ipa.news/2019/09/24/criminal-complaint-filed-against-forensic-officials-in-connection-with-slain-kurdish-activist/
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder