Thousands are expected to march in Paris on 11 January to mark the 12th anniversary of the assassination of three Kurdish activists, demanding justice and transparency from French authorities. The European Kurdish Women’s Movement (TJK-E) has accused France of complicity through inaction, reigniting calls for accountability and truth.
On 9 January 2013, Kurdish activists Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan, and Leyla Şaylemez were murdered execution-style near the Kurdish Information Centre in Paris. Cansız, a founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), was a pioneering figure in the Kurdish women’s liberation movement.
“We respectfully remember our comrades Sakine Cansiz, Rojbîn [Doğan], and Ronahî [Şaylemez], who led the great freedom march of the century,” TJK-E said in a statement, stressing that justice remains elusive. “For 12 years, we have been demanding justice and accountability. The killers’ identities and the motive behind the attack have been clear from the start,” the group added, urging women’s organisations and democratic circles across Europe to join the protest.
The group also highlighted a systematic pattern of targeting Kurdish women. “The first Paris massacre marked the beginning of a series of targeted attacks against Kurdish women leaders in Europe and Kurdistan. Justice remains elusive, and impunity has emboldened further killings,” it added.
Protesters are expected to march through Paris on 11 January under the slogan ‘Kujer Diyar e! Fransa Çima Bêdeng e?’ (The killers are known, why is France silent?). TJK-E vowed to keep fighting for justice: “Nothing can deter us from the path paved by Sakine, Evîn, and Ronahî. We will make the 21st century the century of women.”
Demonstrations will also take place on 9 January in other European cities hosting French consulates. In Paris, marchers will gather at 11 am at the Kurdish Information Centre, the site of the 2013 killings.
The only suspect in the 2013 murders, Ömer Güney, died in prison in 2016 under suspicious circumstances. France reopened the investigation in 2019 but has yet to declassify documents linking the attack to Turkish intelligence (MIT).
TJK-E declared that the lack of accountability has encouraged further violence, referencing the killing of three Kurdish activists in Paris on January 9, 2013, a decade earlier, for which a perpetrator has not been held to account. “The silence of France amounts to complicity,” the group stated.
The 11 January demonstration will start at Gare du Nord at 10 am, with thousands expected to participate, vowing not to rest until justice is served.
