Thousands bid farewell to murdered bar head

Tens of thousands march in Diyarbak?r as the city lays to rest lawyer Tahir Elçi following his assassination in unclear circumstancesAround 50,000 people gathered in the southeastern province of Diyarbak?r for the funeral ceremony of Tahir Elçi, the Diyarbak?r Bar Association head who was apparently killed during clashes that erupted after the killing of two police officers by gunmen.

Elçi was shot dead in Diyarbak?r's Sur district on Nov. 28 as gunmen rushed to the street, where Elçi was holding a press conference to call for peace, after allegedly killing two police officers and wounding another.

It remains unclear who shot Elçi.

The two police officers were identified as Cengiz Erdur and Ahmet Çiftaslan.

Repeatedly hugging her son Arin and daughter Nazelin during the funeral, Elçi's tearful wife, Türkan Elçi, said her husband, a human rights activist as well as a lawyer, had dedicated his life to those who were murdered and whose perpetrators were never found.

"A huge crowd [of dead people], whose murderers have not yet been found, will welcome you [Elçi]. They will tell you [Elçi] they have known you from the beginning. You dedicated your whole life to unsolved murders," said Türkan Elçi in tears.

Diyarbak?r Bar Association deputy head Ahmet Özmen said any death was a matter of sorrow.

Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) Head Metin Feyzio?lu called on all heads of bar associations in Turkey to come to Diyarbak?r on Nov. 28 following Elçi's murder.

"This mean attack was not against our brother Tahir but against all of Turkey," Feyzio?lu said before departing for Diyarbak?r on Nov. 28.

Feyzio?lu also said they did not know who was behind the attack but that the target was...