Turkish prosecutor taken hostage dies from wounds after shootout
- 9 years ago
A Turkish prosecutor and two gunmen who took him hostage have been killed after a shootout with police at a courthouse in Istanbul.
Earlier, two members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), a banned Marxist revolutionary group, had released footage of Mehmet Selim Kiraz with a gun to his head and said they would kill him if their demands were not met.
Kiraz had been leading an inquiry into the death of Berkin Elvan, a 15-year-old boy wounded during anti-government protests in 2013.
The DHKP-C said on its website that it wanted the police officer it blames for Elvan’s death to confess on television, officers to be tried in “people’s courts” and charges against those who attended protests for Elvan to be dropped.
Officials said the two gunmen were killed when police stormed the courthouse, while the prosecutor was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said doctors had done their best to save him.
“We have
Earlier, two members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), a banned Marxist revolutionary group, had released footage of Mehmet Selim Kiraz with a gun to his head and said they would kill him if their demands were not met.
Kiraz had been leading an inquiry into the death of Berkin Elvan, a 15-year-old boy wounded during anti-government protests in 2013.
The DHKP-C said on its website that it wanted the police officer it blames for Elvan’s death to confess on television, officers to be tried in “people’s courts” and charges against those who attended protests for Elvan to be dropped.
Officials said the two gunmen were killed when police stormed the courthouse, while the prosecutor was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said doctors had done their best to save him.
“We have