ANKARA, Turkey — A prominent lawyer and human rights defender, who faced a criminal charge for supporting Kurdish rebels, was killed Saturday in an attack in southeast Turkey in which a police officer also died, officials said.
Tahir Elci was shot while he and other lawyers were making a news statement. Two policemen and a journalist were also injured.
It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the attack, and there were conflicting reports about what led to it.
Interior Minister Efkan Ala and other officials said the assault was against police officers, and that Elci died in an ensuing clash. However, the Diyarbakir Bar Association said the lawyer, who was Kurdish, was the target of the attack.
Elci, 49, was the head of the bar association in the mainly Kurdish city and a human rights activist.
He was detained briefly and questioned last month for saying during a live news program that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is not a terrorist organization. Soon after, he was charged with making terrorist propaganda and was facing more than seven years in prison.
Turkey and its allies consider the PKK to be a terrorist organization, and the government has intensified attacks against it in recent months. The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984.
Ala said the attack began with two people firing at police from an area some 100 yards away from where Elci was speaking. A policeman died in that attack. Ala said Elci died soon after in a clash between the police and assailants.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke of two possible scenarios.
“One possibility is that after this terror attack, the assailants assassinated Mr. Elci,” Davutoglu said. “A second possibility is that … Elci got caught in the crossfire.”
Davutoglu vowed to find the culprits through a “transparent” investigation.
A government official said four inspectors have been assigned to investigate the case, adding that the government was “determined to shed light” on the attack.
