A top Kurdish lawyer was shot dead after unknown attackers opened fire in a mainly Kurdish province in southeastern Turkey.

Witnesses said the assailants opened fire on Tahir Elci and other activists Saturday during a press statement to a gathering in the province of Diyarbakir.  The shooting triggered a firefight between Kurdish rebels and security forces.

Hospital sources said Elci died of gunshot wounds to the head.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed Elci’s death and said a policeman was also killed in the attack.

Elci served as chairman of the Diyarbakir Bar Association. Turkish authorities arrested him in October for saying the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party ((PKK)) is not a terrorist organization. He was released pending his trial.

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Source: VOA News: Economy and Finance