One more person dead from Istanbul clashes: Governor

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

The second victim is still unidentified as no piece of identification was found on him, Istanbul Gov Mutlu said. AP Photo

A second person has died after the May 22 clashes in Istanbul, Gov. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu said today.

The second death comes after the killing of Uğur Kurt, who was shot dead by a stray bullet when police responded, allegeldy with live ammunition, against a group of protesters in Istanbul’s Okmeydanı neighborhood.

Kurt, not a protester, was shot while attending a funeral at a cemevi.

The latest, unidentified victim died after being injured due to the explosion of an explosive device, which also wounded another civilian. Eight police officers were also injured during clashes that continued throughout the night. 

The death of Kurt, a 30-year-old father of one, sparked renewed outrage, fueling more protests in Okmeydanı.

Eight officers’ firearms probed

Daily Radikal’s İsmail Saymaz reported, quoting lawyers, that the firearms of eight police officers were seized and sent for a criminal examination on May 23 as part of the investigation into the killing of Kurt.

However, the suspected police officers were neither interrogated nor subject to gunpowder analyses that would show if they fired their weapons, the report said.

“The prosecutor has stated that the guns of eight policemen were seized. The ballistic reports and the bullet cartridges were sent to forensics. I think they will be able to determine to which gun the bullet [that killed Kurt] belongs,” lawyer Evrim Deniz Karatana said, adding they would also submit footage to the prosecution “It is very clear from the footage that those who opened fire were police officers. There was no ricochet, because when bullets hit hard surfaces and rebound, there is a distortion. We learned that there was no such distortion following the autopsy,” said Karatana, who also represents the family of the 15-year-old Gezi victim Berkin Elvan.

“We are also trying to gather evidence through our own means as much as we can,” she added.

Photographs showing officers holding firearms in their hands circulated on the Internet, after which Gov. Mutlu confirmed that guns were used as police moved into the neighborhood.

“There are images in the media showing guns. All details in terms of both judicial and administrative aspects will be investigated,” Mutlu said.

A funeral procession has been held before noon for Kurt at the cemevi in Okmeydanı where he was shot. Kurt is expected to be laid to rest later on May 23.

Sami Elvan, the father of 15-year-teenager Berkin Elvan who died after being hit by a tear gas canister in the same neighborhood, visited Kurt’s family to express his condolences.