Turkish Police Cause Death of Boy, 15, Protest Sparks
Local Editor
The Turkish police caused the death of a 15-year-old boy, Berkin Elvan, after having hit him in the head with a teargas cartridge while passing by an anti-government protest last year, sparking a protest in the capital city of Ankara and Istanbul on Tuesday.
The police had fired a teargas canister shot at Elvan on June 16 after his return home from buying bread for his family. He was in hospital with a head injury, which led to his death after 269 days of being in a coma.
Thousands of people gathered to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul to protest Elvan's death by the hands of Turkish police. Upon that, the police unleashed water cannon and teargas at the protesters at the demonstration.
Elvan's family pronounced his death on Twitter by saying, "To our people: We lost our son Berkin Elvan at 7am this morning. Condolences to us all."
The boy's mother, Gulsum Elvan, blamed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for the death of her son, who had previously praised the "legendary heroism" of the police forces in quelling protests against the government.
Istanbul governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu's attempt to express his regret at the "loss" on Twitter was met with outrage, with many people tweeting, "We did not 'lose' Berkin; you killed him."
Last June, hundreds of thousands held an environmental protest to save an inner city park, which mounted into a display of rage at Erdogan's stance.
Elvan's death raises the number of deaths to seven since the protests from last summer, with a minimum of four being a direct result of police violence. According to the Turkish Medical Association, nearly 8,000 people were injured as a result of force employed by the Turkish police.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
Comments
- Related News
