Berkin Elvan

Berkin Elvan (5 January 1999 – 11 March 2014) was a 15-year-old Kurdish–Turkish[1] boy who was hit on the head by a tear-gas canister fired by a police officer in Istanbul[2] during the June 2013 anti-government protests in Turkey. He died on March 11, 2014, following a 269-day coma. Lawyers representing the family said Elvan's condition worsened over the last week of his life, with his weight dropping to 16 kg from 45 kg.[3][4][5] Widespread demonstrations erupted following Berkin's death.[6][7]

Berkin Elvan
Born(1999-01-05)5 January 1999
Turkey
Died11 March 2014(2014-03-11) (aged 15)
Okmeydanı, Istanbul, Turkey
Cause of deathFatally injured after hit by a police tear gas capsule
Resting placeFeriköy Cemetery, Istanbul, Turkey
NationalityTurkish
Parents
  • Sami Elvan (father)
  • Gülsüm Elvan (mother)

He was buried at the Feriköy Cemetery, Istanbul.

Investigation

On 12 March 2014, four police officers testified for the ongoing investigation concerning the case of Berkin Elvan’s injury during the Gezi protests. Overall, 18 police officers have testified as suspects under the investigation so far, including these four. [8]

Protests

Following Elvan's death, protests erupted throughout Turkey in Adana, Adıyaman, Antalya, Ankara,[9] Ardahan, Bursa, Bolu, Çorum Düzce, Edirne, Gaziantep, İstanbul, İzmir, Konya, Hatay, Malatya, Sivas, Şanlıurfa, Şırnak Kayseri Dersim, Tokat, Zonguldak[10] and worldwide in cities such as Nuremberg,[11] London,[12] Paris, Vienna, Helsinki, Strasbourg,[13] Stockholm, New York City, Boston, Washington DC, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bielefeld, Berlin, Brussels, Den Haag, Dresden, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Lausanne, Lisbon, Rotterdam, Stuttgart, Warsaw, Seattle, Pennsylvania, Toronto.[14] His funeral was held in Istanbul on March 12 and was attended by thousands of people, many of whom had never heard of the boy prior to the incident.

Banner placed in Greece, in March 2014 at the place where Alexis Grigoropoulos got shot in Exarchia, Athens.

Reactions

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed that the boy was a "member of a terrorist organization" as he had his face covered by a scarf.[15]

In March 2014, Maoist rebels attacked a police station in revenge for Elvan's killing.[16][17]

On 31 March 2015, suspected members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) took prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz hostage on the sixth floor of the Istanbul Çağlayan Justice Palace. They demanded that the police announce the names of four members of the security services who they said were connected to the death of Berkin Elvan. The police negotiated with the gunmen for six hours, but eventually stormed the courthouse "because of gunshots heard from inside the prosecutor's office". The two gunmen died during the operation, while the prosecutor was badly wounded and later died of his injuries.[18]

See also
  • 2013 protests in Turkey

References
  1. "Çocuk mezarlığında yaşıyormuşuz". Yeni Özgür Politika (in Turkish). 1 July 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  2. "Funeral of Turkish boy Berkin Elvan brings thousands to Istanbul streets | World news | theguardian.com". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  3. "BBC News - Grief breaks out as Turkish boy dies in coma". bbc.com. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  4. "Turkey: Berkin Elvan, 15, hurt in Istanbul clashes, dies after months in coma | euronews,". euronews.com. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  5. "15-year-old Gezi victim Berkin Elvan dies after 269 days in coma - LOCAL". hurriyetdailynews.com. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  6. "BBC News - Turkey clashes after boy hurt at Istanbul protest dies". bbc.com. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  7. "Funeral of Turkish boy Berkin Elvan brings thousands to Istanbul streets". Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  8. "Berkin Elvan protests continues!". Hürriyet. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  9. "Harsh intervention by the police to the "Berkin" protests in Ankara and İzmir". CNNTURK. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  10. ""Berkin Elvan" protests throughout Turkey". Radikal. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  11. ""Berkin Elvan" protests in Germany". DW. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  12. "Berkin Elvan protests in London". Londra Gazete. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  13. "Europe was in the streets for Belkin Elvan!". Portal SOL. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  14. "Berkin Elvan protests around the world". Hürriyet. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  15. Spiegel.de (German)
  16. TİKKO’dan Berkin Elvan için misilleme eylemi Archived January 9, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  17. Gerilladan Berkin Elvan için misilleme eylemi
  18. Bloody end to Turkey prosecutor hostage crisis
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