A Turkish prosecutor has been seized by the Marxist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front, and the group said it will kill him if the police officers charged with killing a boy don’t confess on TV in the next hour. The group posted photos on its Facebook page showing prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz with a gun being held to his head.
Turkish prosecutor investigating death
The Turkish prosecutor is heading up the investigation into Berkin Elvan’s death. Police were attempting to quell anti-government protests in June 2013 in Istanbul and hit him on the head with a tear gas canister. The 15-year-old boy slipped into a coma and died as a result of the head injury nearly a year later.
According to John Hall of the Daily Mail, video showed special forces entering the courthouse building and then escorting court officials out of the building. Then there was gunfire at the courthouse where Kiraz was reportedly working at the time, according to news outlets in Turkey.
Group seizes Mehmet Selim Kiraz
The Marxist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front released a statement to Turkish media taking responsibility for the seizing of the Turkish prosecutor. The group has launched a number of attacks recently in protest of the government. In addition to taking Kiraz, they also put their posters and flags up in his office.
The group gave a deadline of 3:36 p.m. Turkey time for Kiraz to state the name of the police officers who said they killed Elvan. If he refused to do so, the group said it would shoot him. The group also stated on its website that it wants a live confession from the police officers on television.
Also the group demanded that the charges filed against the attendees of the Elvan protests to be dropped. They blame the AK Party, which is currently in power, for the boy’s death. They also accuse officials of covering up details about what happened and who was responsible for his death.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was reportedly meeting with justice and interior ministers to talk about the hostage situation.
