French authorities launched an investigation into Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MIT) for its role in the murder of three female Kurdish activists in 2013, Kurdish Fırat News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Three women, including Sakine Cansız, a co-founder of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), were shot dead in a Kurdish information centre in Paris in 2013.

Ömer Güney, the only suspect, died in December 2016 due to a brain tumour and France dropped all proceedings over the 2013 murders the following month, despite protests demanding the continuation of inquiries.

According to ANF, the French authorities decided to re-open the case after the families of the victims filed a new complaint in May 2018, appointing an anti-terrorism judge to lead the proceedings. Jean-Louis Malterre, the lawyer of the victims, told ANF that the new inquiry would also investigate MIT’s role in the murders.

“The justice has recognised the role of Turkish services,” ANF quoted Malterre as saying.