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It has been five years since Berkin Elvan, who was shot with a tear gas canister during Gezi Park protests, lost his life at the age of 15. Elvan was commemorated at his grave in Feriköy Cemetery today (March 11).
The family of Elvan and Taksim Solidarity previously released a statement of invitation and said, "It has been five full years since we have lost our Berkin, the child of hope. As the family of Berkin Elvan and Taksim Solidarity, we are commemorating our Berkin in the Feriköy Cemetery at 2 p.m. today."
The commemoration was attended by the Elvan family, members of Taksim Solidarity, İstanbul MPs of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Sezgin Tanrıkulu and Ali Şeker, CHP Party Assembly member Erdal Aksünger and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) İstanbul MP Musa Piroğlu.
Gülsüm Elvan, the mother of Berkin Elvan, kissed the gravestone of his son and laid flowers on it. The ceremony started with a moment of silence.
Speaking after the moment of silence, father Sami Elvan said,
"My child and other children like him have lost their bodies for that cause. It has been six years since Berkin Elvan was shot and we are commemorating his fifth year today. My son is alive, I am absolutely sure of that. Because his memories don't go out of my mind. If he was not alive, we would forget him, these people would forget him as well.
"Gezi was a people, it was bread, water and justice. Whatever you look for, it was there. My child and others like him have lost their bodies for that cause. I am making a call to whole Turkey here. Berkin Elvan is not only a child of mine, he is a child of us all."
Mısra Öz Sel, the mother of Oğuz Arda Sel, who died in train derailment in Çorlu at the age of nine, also attended the commemoration with daisies in her hands. Two women offered their condolences to each other by hugging.
What happened?On June 16, 2013, Berkin Elvan was hospitalized due to grave head injuries after the police intervention in the district of Okmeydanı in İstanbul. When he was admitted to the Okmeydanı Research Hospital, his heart had reportedly stopped already. Suffering from a brain hemorrhage, Elvan went through at least five surgeries. On January 5, 2014, Elvan turned 15 in his comatose. He died on March 11, 269 days after being shot. While the prosecutor investigating the incident was changed for six times, the investigation was completed on December 7, 2016. Prepared by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the indictment demanded that police officer F.D., who was referred to as the only defendant, be penalized on charge of "killing with eventual intent." The 11-page indictment sent to the İstanbul 17th Heavy Penal Court has been accepted. A verdict of non-prosecution has been given for 42 police officers, who previously made their depositions as part of the investigation into the death of Elvan. Speaking to bianet, Oya Aslan, one of the attorneys for the Elvan family, stated that a lawsuit was filed only against a single police officer who was on the scene of incident and added that since the lawsuit was filed for "killing with eventual intent", rather than for "wilful murder", it has reduced the foreseen prison sentence to 20 years. The case is still continuing. Its next hearing will be held on May 8, 2019. |
(AS/SD)
* Photographs: Elif Ilgaz, Oya Ersoy, Twitter
