Musa Anter murder case to be reopened by Turkish Justice Ministry

Rahşan Yorozlu, daughter of the slain Kurdish journalist Musa Anter, filed an application on 21 September 2022 with the Turkish Ministry of Justice’s Unsolved Crimes Department requesting that the murder case be reopened after it was dismissed on statute‑of‑limitations grounds. The petition asks that missing investigations be completed, physical evidence be re‑examined with modern forensic techniques, and that individuals responsible within the chain of command be identified and prosecuted.

Anter was killed on 20 September 1992 in Diyarbakır by a JİTEM unit; former JİTEM operative Abdülkadir Aygan later admitted participation. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey had violated Anter’s right to life, prompting the case to be reopened in 2009, but it was again closed in September 2022. The new request seeks a full re‑assessment of the case in light of the ECHR decision and updated investigative standards.