French court closes case over murder of Kurdish activists

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – France on Monday shut down all the proceedings over the murder case of three Kurdish political activists, after the death of the main suspect.

Three Kurdish women, who were political activists, were assassinated in central Paris in January 2013, all shot in the head.

Mystery continues to swirl around the slayings since no group or individual claimed responsibility for the violence.

Sakine Cansiz, one of the assassinated women, was a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group designated by Turkey and the United States as a terror organization.

Omar Guney, a Turkish citizen in his thirties, was the main suspect in the murder case but lost his life in a hospital in December from a brain tumor.

Guney, who had been under investigation for three years, maintained his innocence in the triple murder case.

His trial was due to open on Monday but French authorities closed the case after his death.

Speculations had emerged he was following orders from Turkey’s authorities but the suspicions were not proven in court, and Turkey denied involvement.

Before his death, Guney had been placed under formal investigation within a week of the triple murder.

Guney’s lawyer Anne-Sophie Laguens said her client had sought the hearing on Monday to present his case, but the outcome was not satisfying for anybody.

“If we had held the hearing six months earlier we might have had a judicial response,” she said.

“We are in France, and the important elements (of the case) are in Turkey,” said Jean-Louis Malterre, one of the lawyers acting for the victims’ families.

Kurds have been rallying in Paris, asking the government to bring the perpetrator to justice.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany