A day after Turkey arrested two journalists for their report exposing Erdogan's weapons deliveries to "extremist groups" in Syria, confirming that no dissent to the president's foreign policy would be allowed, today a new riot has erupted in Istanbul following the dramatic murder in broad daylight of Tahir Elci, the president of the Turkish bar association in southeastern Diyarbakir province, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen while giving a public speech.
A campaigner for Kurdish rights, Elci had been criticized in Turkey for saying the banned Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) was not a terrorist organization, as the government
describes it. He had, however, denounced PKK violence. He was facing trial over his comments, which had infuriated state prosecutors. A Turkish prosecutor last month demanded up to seven and a half years of prison tme for Elci on the grounds of "making propaganda of a terror organization" after remarks he made supporting the PKK.
Just before being gunned down, Elci called for peace and the silencing of all guns.
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