KRSC Chancellor: I am deeply saddened by the tragic death of Tahir Elci

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) Chancellor Masrour Barzani expresses his condolences to the family of prominent Kurdish activist Tahir Elci who was shot in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir – Turkey on Saturday.

On his official Twitter account on Saturday, Barzani stated, "I'm deeply saddened by the tragic death of Tahir Elci, a Kurdish activist and defender of human rights. My condolences to his family- MB.”

On Saturday morning, the head of Diyarbakir Bar Association Tahir Elci was killed in the clashes between Turkish police and PKK-affiliated youth in Diyarbakir – a Kurdish city located in the southeastern of Turkey.

49-years-old Tahir Elci was in the Sur district of the city when clashes broke out. Shortly after, Tahir Elci was found shot dead in the head. The father of two, Mr. Elci was there to issue a media statement regarding the damage received by "Minareya Çarling" (the Four-legged Minaret Mosque) a 16th century landmark, during clashes earlier this week.

Following his death, Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) called the killing of Elci as an assassination.

On Sunday, thousands of people attended Elci's funeral in Diyarbakir. The Co-chair of HDP Salahattin Demirtas said that Elci was the victim of a "political murder… peace, freedoms and brotherhood are what Elci dedicated his life for,” he said.

Tahir Elci had been detained in Diyarbakir on November 20 after saying the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whose guerrillas are battling Turkish government forces, is not a terrorist group. An Istanbul court later ordered his release pending the trial, on condition that he should not leave the country and that he regularly report to the authorities, his lawyer Mehmet Emin Aktar said.