Tahir Elçi was killed in an assassination on 28.11.2015 in Diyarbakır, while giving a press statement in front of the Four-Legged Minaret. Throughout his life, Tahir Elçi worked tirelessly to help victims of serious human rights violations gain access to justice. He is Turkey’s foremost symbolic figure in the struggle against impunity.
As both a lawyer and a human rights activist, Tahir Elçi inspired countless people in Turkey and around the world, and paved the way for the formation of many initiatives and organisations. The Tahir Elçi Human Rights Foundation was founded in Diyarbakır in 2019 to carry forward his legacy and continue his struggle.
Grounded in Tahir Elçi’s human rights struggle, his pursuit of justice, and his fight for social peace and the equality of individuals, the Tahir Elçi Foundation carries out work aimed at:
– Trainee lawyers and lawyers wishing to take part in the human rights struggle,
– Staff and volunteers of human rights organisations,
– Women, older people, children, people with disabilities, and individuals of different sexual orientations, who are considered socially disadvantaged under human rights theory and human rights law.
It also carries out work aimed at young people, with the goals of: building young people’s self-esteem and self-confidence; developing their ability to manage personal and social relationships; supporting their cultural, artistic, and social awareness; providing learning opportunities that offer valuable and challenging experiences enabling them to develop new knowledge, skills, and attitudes; enabling their active participation in decision-making processes; helping them develop their individual capacities and their sense of social awareness and social solidarity; and raising awareness of citizenship rights so as to build a culture of discussion that listens to and hears what young people have to say and seeks to guide them.
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