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PARIS MURDER OF KURDISH ACTIVISTS TRACED TO TURKEY
http://asbarez.com/115312/paris-murder-of-kurdish-activists-traced-to-turkey/
Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013
Kurdish community members march, holding a banner showing the three
Kurdish activists, (left-right) Fidan Dogan, Leyla Soeylemez and
Sakine Cansiz (Photo: Reuters)
PARIS (Reuters)--French investigators trying to solve the murder of
three Kurdish women in Paris have collected evidence about the chief
suspect's connections to Turkey, four sources with knowledge of the
investigation told Reuters.
Police sources told Reuters the magistrate in charge of the case was
about to lodge a formal appeal for information to Turkey about Omer
Guney, a Turkish immigrant placed under formal investigation for the
triple murder eight months ago.
The move could mark a turning point in the case. It comes after
disclosures that Guney took at least three trips to Turkey and made
dozens of phone calls to contacts there in the months before the
killings, lawyers with access to investigation files told Reuters.
The Turkish justice ministry did not immediately respond to requests
for comment on cooperation with France in the case.
The murders of Sakine Cansız, 55, a founding member of the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK); Fidan Dogan, 32, a spokeswoman for the
organization in France and Europe; and a trainee named Leyla Saylemez,
25, sent a shockwave through Europe's Kurdish community. The women
were shot as ceasefire talks to end 29 years of war between the PKK
and Turkey were starting.
The key question asked by lawyers and victims' family members is who
ordered the killing. Kurds who gather each week by the crime scene say
it was a political assassination. French police quickly arrested Guney,
30. Surveillance footage placed him at the scene, and partial DNA from
one of the victims was found on a parka belonging to him, lawyers said.
Guney, who says he is innocent, has been awaiting trial for eight
months in detention near Paris. His lawyer, Anne-Sophie Laguens,
said she planned to apply to have him freed under court supervision
because he was not receiving proper treatment for a brain tumor that
induced seizures.
Laguens said she was also waiting for answers from Turkey regarding
her client's trips. Guney told investigators he had travelled to
Turkey to find a wife and had bought tickets with disability payments
he received from the French state.
Political fallout
Lawyers both for Guney and the victims' families in France and
in Turkey say the investigation has dragged due to concern about
political fallout from a case involving two NATO allies linked by a
2011 bilateral security accord.
"It's my impression that we [the French investigation] have received
more information in this case through Turkish media than through
international cooperation," said Antoine Comte, a lawyer for the
victims in France.
Thousands of people attended the funeral ceremony of the Kurdish
activists in Dikranagerd (Diyarbakir) (Photo: Reuters)
Police sources said Turkish authorities had earlier provided some
biographical information about Guney, but the French magistrate was
expected to seek responses to recent disclosures.
A spokesman for France's foreign ministry said the French state exerts
no influence over judicial investigations. Paris' anti-terrorism
court denied that political tension was slowing down the case.
New evidence could upset a cease-fire brokered between the outlawed
PKK and Turkey: Kurdish militants are disappointed with Turkish efforts
to address their grievances and have said they are considering whether
to maintain the deal.
Lawyers also questioned the efficiency of judicial cooperation after
the Turkish pro-government newspaper Bugun wrote that the prosecutor
in Ankara had accused French authorities in August of failing to
respond to his requests for details in the case.
Turkish media wrote earlier this year that the Ankara prosecutor
is conducting a separate probe under an article of penal law which
says a person who commits a crime abroad while in the service of the
Turkish state can be tried in Turkey, even if he is already found
guilty abroad and/or has served time.
Turkish media said the Ankara prosecutor is seeking to establish
whether Guney was in the service of the Turkish state. The prosecutor's
office did not respond to requests for comment.
"We feel that since the crime was committed in France, the real
interlocutors are the French authorities. They must respond to the
Turkish requests for information," said Meral DanıÅ~_ BeÅ~_taÅ~_,
a lawyer in Turkey for the victims' families.
Two pieces of evidence in investigation files highlight Guney's alleged
ties to people in Turkey: three trips in August, October and December
of 2012, and phone records from one of five cell phones that police
say belonged to Guney. The latter show "dozens" of calls to Turkish
numbers in the same period.
Phone records
Comte said records of Guney's phone activity with Turkey were placed
in the investigations file in July, five months after his arrest.
These contacts could be crucial to finding out whether Guney was
involved in the killings and, if so, with or without foreign backing.
However, the details cannot be checked without help from Turkey,
Comte said.
"You need an order from a Turkish judge to identify the interlocutors,"
said another lawyer for the victims' families, Jean-Louis Malterre.
Members of France's Kurdish community seen gathered on Jan. 10 while
two men, pictured left, carry the body of one of the three women
slain in Paris (Photo: AFP)
In France lawyers for victims can join criminal proceedings. They
have access to investigation files and participate in trials. The
Turkish system has similar provisions.
While the French magistrate prepares to seek information from Turkey,
one of the lawyers with access to the investigation file pointed also
to hold-ups on the French side.
A month after Guney's arrest, investigators from the French
anti-terrorist unit, Sdat, checked the contents of a borrowed Peugeot
car he used on the day of the killing; it was their second try.
Dismantling the car, they found a passport behind the radio with
stamps for three trips to Turkey, and a dry-cleaning bill dated a
few days after the killings, Comte said.
"When Guney was brought in, they missed half the things in his car,"
the lawyer said. "The dry-cleaning bill didn't enter the investigation
file until a month later. If you look at the transcripts of the first
hours of questioning, all they are doing is trying to update their
archives about PKK activities."
Police sources had no comment on allegations that evidence was missed
in the first search of Guney's car. They said questioning had focused
on his links to the PKK because he claimed to be a member. PKK has
denied Guney was a member of the outlawed group.
The appeal to Turkey for judicial help, to be lodged by investigating
magistrate Jeanne Duye, comes after similar requests were sent to
Holland and Germany - where Guney lived for nine years - and received
replies.
Other factors are also complicating the investigation. On Sept. 25
Duye's computer containing judicial files was stolen from her home.
Duye's office did not respond to a request for comment. Duye has not
spoken publicly about the murder case.
http://asbarez.com/115312/paris-murder-of-kurdish-activists-traced-to-turkey/
Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013
Kurdish community members march, holding a banner showing the three
Kurdish activists, (left-right) Fidan Dogan, Leyla Soeylemez and
Sakine Cansiz (Photo: Reuters)
PARIS (Reuters)--French investigators trying to solve the murder of
three Kurdish women in Paris have collected evidence about the chief
suspect's connections to Turkey, four sources with knowledge of the
investigation told Reuters.
Police sources told Reuters the magistrate in charge of the case was
about to lodge a formal appeal for information to Turkey about Omer
Guney, a Turkish immigrant placed under formal investigation for the
triple murder eight months ago.
The move could mark a turning point in the case. It comes after
disclosures that Guney took at least three trips to Turkey and made
dozens of phone calls to contacts there in the months before the
killings, lawyers with access to investigation files told Reuters.
The Turkish justice ministry did not immediately respond to requests
for comment on cooperation with France in the case.
The murders of Sakine Cansız, 55, a founding member of the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK); Fidan Dogan, 32, a spokeswoman for the
organization in France and Europe; and a trainee named Leyla Saylemez,
25, sent a shockwave through Europe's Kurdish community. The women
were shot as ceasefire talks to end 29 years of war between the PKK
and Turkey were starting.
The key question asked by lawyers and victims' family members is who
ordered the killing. Kurds who gather each week by the crime scene say
it was a political assassination. French police quickly arrested Guney,
30. Surveillance footage placed him at the scene, and partial DNA from
one of the victims was found on a parka belonging to him, lawyers said.
Guney, who says he is innocent, has been awaiting trial for eight
months in detention near Paris. His lawyer, Anne-Sophie Laguens,
said she planned to apply to have him freed under court supervision
because he was not receiving proper treatment for a brain tumor that
induced seizures.
Laguens said she was also waiting for answers from Turkey regarding
her client's trips. Guney told investigators he had travelled to
Turkey to find a wife and had bought tickets with disability payments
he received from the French state.
Political fallout
Lawyers both for Guney and the victims' families in France and
in Turkey say the investigation has dragged due to concern about
political fallout from a case involving two NATO allies linked by a
2011 bilateral security accord.
"It's my impression that we [the French investigation] have received
more information in this case through Turkish media than through
international cooperation," said Antoine Comte, a lawyer for the
victims in France.
Thousands of people attended the funeral ceremony of the Kurdish
activists in Dikranagerd (Diyarbakir) (Photo: Reuters)
Police sources said Turkish authorities had earlier provided some
biographical information about Guney, but the French magistrate was
expected to seek responses to recent disclosures.
A spokesman for France's foreign ministry said the French state exerts
no influence over judicial investigations. Paris' anti-terrorism
court denied that political tension was slowing down the case.
New evidence could upset a cease-fire brokered between the outlawed
PKK and Turkey: Kurdish militants are disappointed with Turkish efforts
to address their grievances and have said they are considering whether
to maintain the deal.
Lawyers also questioned the efficiency of judicial cooperation after
the Turkish pro-government newspaper Bugun wrote that the prosecutor
in Ankara had accused French authorities in August of failing to
respond to his requests for details in the case.
Turkish media wrote earlier this year that the Ankara prosecutor
is conducting a separate probe under an article of penal law which
says a person who commits a crime abroad while in the service of the
Turkish state can be tried in Turkey, even if he is already found
guilty abroad and/or has served time.
Turkish media said the Ankara prosecutor is seeking to establish
whether Guney was in the service of the Turkish state. The prosecutor's
office did not respond to requests for comment.
"We feel that since the crime was committed in France, the real
interlocutors are the French authorities. They must respond to the
Turkish requests for information," said Meral DanıÅ~_ BeÅ~_taÅ~_,
a lawyer in Turkey for the victims' families.
Two pieces of evidence in investigation files highlight Guney's alleged
ties to people in Turkey: three trips in August, October and December
of 2012, and phone records from one of five cell phones that police
say belonged to Guney. The latter show "dozens" of calls to Turkish
numbers in the same period.
Phone records
Comte said records of Guney's phone activity with Turkey were placed
in the investigations file in July, five months after his arrest.
These contacts could be crucial to finding out whether Guney was
involved in the killings and, if so, with or without foreign backing.
However, the details cannot be checked without help from Turkey,
Comte said.
"You need an order from a Turkish judge to identify the interlocutors,"
said another lawyer for the victims' families, Jean-Louis Malterre.
Members of France's Kurdish community seen gathered on Jan. 10 while
two men, pictured left, carry the body of one of the three women
slain in Paris (Photo: AFP)
In France lawyers for victims can join criminal proceedings. They
have access to investigation files and participate in trials. The
Turkish system has similar provisions.
While the French magistrate prepares to seek information from Turkey,
one of the lawyers with access to the investigation file pointed also
to hold-ups on the French side.
A month after Guney's arrest, investigators from the French
anti-terrorist unit, Sdat, checked the contents of a borrowed Peugeot
car he used on the day of the killing; it was their second try.
Dismantling the car, they found a passport behind the radio with
stamps for three trips to Turkey, and a dry-cleaning bill dated a
few days after the killings, Comte said.
"When Guney was brought in, they missed half the things in his car,"
the lawyer said. "The dry-cleaning bill didn't enter the investigation
file until a month later. If you look at the transcripts of the first
hours of questioning, all they are doing is trying to update their
archives about PKK activities."
Police sources had no comment on allegations that evidence was missed
in the first search of Guney's car. They said questioning had focused
on his links to the PKK because he claimed to be a member. PKK has
denied Guney was a member of the outlawed group.
The appeal to Turkey for judicial help, to be lodged by investigating
magistrate Jeanne Duye, comes after similar requests were sent to
Holland and Germany - where Guney lived for nine years - and received
replies.
Other factors are also complicating the investigation. On Sept. 25
Duye's computer containing judicial files was stolen from her home.
Duye's office did not respond to a request for comment. Duye has not
spoken publicly about the murder case.