Eskisehir governor says ‘mainly’ civilians involved in Gezi protester’s death

ESKİŞEHİR – Doğan News Agency

Tuna’s remarks came a day after four people, including a police officer, were arrested in Eskişehir in the investigation into the killing of Korkmaz. DHA Photo

Eskişehir Gov. Güngör Azim Tuna said he stood behind his previous remarks over the death of a Gezi protester in Eskişehir, adding that the police were not behind the incident.

“We have said the police did not do this. We defend our remarks. Mainly civilians were involved in this incident,” said Tuna about the killing of Ali İsmail Korkmaz.

“There might be some officials in a great organization who exceeded their goals and duties and were involved in this incident. We have said before that what is necessary will be done in this [case]. [This person] has been suspended and arrested by the judiciary,” said Tuna.

Tuna’s remarks came a day after four people, including a police officer, were arrested in Eskişehir in the investigation into the killing of Korkmaz.

Footage that showed assailants in civilian clothes beating protesters with sticks emerged on July 12 as part of an investigation into the death of Korkmaz, who was buried in his hometown of Hatay on July 11 after spending weeks in hospital with severe injuries sustained during the beating. Eight people, including four public employees were detained earlier on Aug. 7, while four of the suspects were later released. One of the arrested public employees is a police officer in the anti-terrorism unit, identified as M.S., daily Radikal reported.

Korkmaz, 19, was the fifth person killed since the start of the protests in late May.

The arrests came after the Gendarmerie Criminal Unit rescued security camera footage showing a group of people beating Korkmaz. The footage had been earlier reported as erased.

“It is definitely not the Turkish police who did this,” Tuna had said on a live TV show the day of Korkmaz’s funeral. “Some groups tried to provoke things, and we even heard that there were groups who hit their own friends and reported that ‘the police did it.’”