Campaign Aims to Urge Prosecution For Berkin Elvan’s Death

Berkin Elvan’s family launch a campaign to urge a prosecution on his killing. 

Berkin Elvan was shot by a gas bomb canister on June 16, 2013 and killed due to comatose on March 11, 2014. 

Launching the campaign, Elvan Family urged authorities to explain why his killers were not identified yet and prosecutors failed to draft an indictment and authorities failed to investigate on the issue. 

Berkin’s father Sami Elvan and his uncle Kenan Düzen release a statement claiming that the suspected policemen were yet to be identified even though a footage detected them and prosecutors working on the issue were dismissed. 

“There has been an administrational investigation on the issue. However, only a part of this investigation has been sent to prosecutors. Where is the rest of the investigation file and when will it be submitted to the prosecutor’s office?” they asked in a statement. 

The family also launched a campaign on Twitter with the hashtag #BerkinElvanDosyasıNerede (#WhereisBerkinElvanFile)(AS/BM)

What happened?

On June 16, Berkin Elvan has been hospitalized due to grave head injuries after the police intervention in Istanbul’s Okmeydanı district. When he was admitted to the Okmeydanı Research Hospital, his heart has reportedly stopped already.

On January 5, Elvan turned 15 in his comatose. He died on Day 269. 

Following the assignment of case prosecutor Faruk Bildirici to another city on June 12, no progress has been made for three months. 

Later on, prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz took over the case, detecting the names of policemen who were in the crime scene on the day. 

While he requested police authorities to turn in the names, police authorities in Istanbul reportedly denied the request. 

Prosecutor Kiraz summoned one policeman to testify as a “witness for now” on September 30. However, he didn’t show up. 

Only a part of administrational investigation file was turned in to the prosecutor.

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.