The Killing of Tahir Elçi - EN from Forensic Architecture on Vimeo.
Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish
Forensic Architecture, a research agency based in the University of London, has released a report of its investigation into lawyer Tahir Elçi's murder.
The report has concluded that three police officers at the scene of the incident are the most likely suspects of the killing.
Diyarbakır Bar Association Chair Tahir Elçi was shot dead during a press statement near the Sheik Matar Mosque in Sur district of Southeastern province Diyarbakır on November 28, 2015. Perpetrators have not appeared before a court.
Diyarbakır Bar Association applied to the Forensic Architecture for an investigation of the incident.
The Forensic Architecture conducted the investigation using video, documentary and testimonial evidence provided by the Diyarbakır Bar Association as well as other open source material.
"Plain-clothes officers opened fire"
The report has reached the following conclusions:
"Fatal shots were not fired by PKK members"
"Three officers had a direct line of fire"
Diyarbakır Bar Association shared material regarding Elçi's killing with the Forensic Architecture.
The files included the videos shot by police officers and press members, civilians' and police officers' testimonies, the reports prepared upon the Bar Association's demand and reports prepared by public authorities in Turkey.
The Forensic Architecture created a 3D model of the Sur district. The report said the following on this model:
"In order to locate Elçi, the PKK members, the police officers, and members of press in space, we used a technique called 'camera calibration'.
"This process estimates camera's internal optical properties, such as its focal length, barrel distortion, and optical center, as well as external parameters such as the camera's position and orientation in relation to identifiable spatial elements.
"Through this process of calibration, we could thus determine the location, orientation, and scale of objects and people within the scene."
According to the report, the mandate given to Forensic Architecture by the Diyarbakır Bar Association was to determine, using the audio-visual material in the case file, whether it would be possible to:
- Identify the time Elçi was killed.
- Identify the individuals that could have fired the lethal shot.
- Determine whether or not it was possible for Tahir Elçi to have been shot by a long-range weapon fired from outside of Yenikapı street.
- Determine whether the PPK members running down Yenikapı Street should be considered suspects in the killing of Elçi.
- Determine whether and which police officers at the scene should have been considered suspects in the killing.
- Determine whether there was an attempt to offer Elçi with adequate medical aid after he was hit.
About the Forensic ArchitectureForensic Architecture (FA) is a research agency, based at Goldsmiths, University of London. According to its website, the FA undertakes advanced architectural and media research on behalf of international prosecutors, human rights organizations and political and environmental justice groups. In the past, the FA worked with human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos, B'tselem, Al Mezan and Migeurop. They have also worked with international prosecutors, international offices such as the UN Special Rapporteur for Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, and reporters from The Intercept and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Click for more information |
(AS/VK)