Cizre Police Chief turns himself in

Cizre Police Chief Ercan Demir, for whom an arrest warrant was issued in relation to the Hrant Dink murder case investigation, has reportedly submitted himself to authorities in Ankara today.

According to journalist İsmail Saymaz’s report in Radikal, Demir is presently being brought to Istanbul for his arrest to be processed. It has also emerged that on January 16, the date of the arrest warrant, Demir was discharged from his position in Cizre and returned to his former position as Information Technologies Department Head.

Ercan Demir had been appointed Cizre Police Chief on 30 December. He took leave following the death of Ümit Kurt (14) by a police bullet, and came to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to provide a testimony. He then went to Ankara. His position as Cizre Police Chief was annulled on the day the arrest warrant was issued, and he was returned to his position as Information Technologies Department Head. Demir turned himself in at the Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara today. He is currently being brought to Istanbul.

Demir was serving at the Trabzon Police Intelligence Branch at the time of the Dink assasination. Demir had provided a statement to Prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü at the Istanbul Çağlayan Court House on January 12, but was released by the court.