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| Turkish prosecutor taken hostage by armed anti-government group | Turkish prosecutor taken hostage by armed anti-government group |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| An armed leftist group has taken hostage the Turkish prosecutor investigating the politically sensitive death of an anti-government protester, and is threatening to kill him if their demands are not met. | |
| Gunfire was heard at the Istanbul courthouse on Tuesday where the prosecutor, Mehmet Selim Kiraz, was working, the Dogan news agency reported. | |
| Kiraz was investigating the killing of Berkin Elvan, who died in March last year after spending 269 days in a coma due to injuries inflicted by police in the mass protests of early summer 2013. | Kiraz was investigating the killing of Berkin Elvan, who died in March last year after spending 269 days in a coma due to injuries inflicted by police in the mass protests of early summer 2013. |
| In a statement published by Turkish media, the hostage-taking was claimed by the radical Marxist Revolutionary People’s Liberation party/Front (DKKP/C), which has been behind a string of attacks over recent years. | |
| Related: Berkin Elvan funeral protests in Turkey – in pictures | Related: Berkin Elvan funeral protests in Turkey – in pictures |
| The group published pictures showing one of the militants – his face concealed by a scarf with the group’s red and yellow insignia – holding a gun to Kiraz’s head. They had also plastered their flags and posters on the walls of his office. | The group published pictures showing one of the militants – his face concealed by a scarf with the group’s red and yellow insignia – holding a gun to Kiraz’s head. They had also plastered their flags and posters on the walls of his office. |
| Turkish media said the group had given a deadline of 3.36pm for the prosecutor to identify the police officers who they say were behind the killing of Elvan or he would be shot. Their demands also include a “live confession” by the officers responsible. | |
| Elvan succumbed to injuries sustained when he was hit by a tear-gas canister fired by police in the mass protests of early summer 2013 against the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was then prime minister. | |
| Elvan was aged 15 at the time of his death, which was followed by mass nationwide protests that were also largely put down by the police. | Elvan was aged 15 at the time of his death, which was followed by mass nationwide protests that were also largely put down by the police. |
| Elvan has since become an icon for the Turkish far left and his supporters accuse the authorities of covering up the circumstances and perpetrators of his death. | Elvan has since become an icon for the Turkish far left and his supporters accuse the authorities of covering up the circumstances and perpetrators of his death. |