Death of Berkin Elvan

Berkin Elvan (5 January 1999 – 11 March 2014) was a 15-year-old boy who was hit on the head by a tear-gas canister fired by a police officer in Istanbul^[1] during the June 2013 anti-government protests in Turkey. He died on March 11, 2014.^[2] Lawyers representing the family said Elvan's condition worsened over the last week of his life, with his weight dropping to 16 kg from 45 kg.^[3][4][5] Widespread demonstrations erupted following Berkin's death.^[6][7]

He was buried at the Feriköy Cemetery, Istanbul.

His father was from Tokat, while his mother was from Tunceli.^[8]

On the 16 June 2013, Berkin Elvan was in an area where the Gezi Park protests unfolded near his home in Okmeydanı, Istanbul. That day his mother wanted to go out and buy bread, but Berkin bravely said that the streets were too dangerous and because he was younger, he could run faster in case of an emergency. Thats when he was hit on the head by a tear gas canister^[9] thrown by the police officer Fatih Dalgalı. However, in another report sent to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was stated that he was found to be carrying explosives when he was brought to the Okmeydanı Training and Research Hospital. He fell into coma and died after 269 days on the 11 March 2014.^[10] His funeral was held in Istanbul on March 12 and attended by thousands of people.^[11] He was buried at the Feriköy Cemetery, Istanbul.^[12]

On 12 March 2014, four police officers testified for the ongoing investigation concerning the case of Berkin Elvan's injury during the Gezi protests. Overall, 18 police officers testified as suspects in the investigation, including these four.^[13] The prosecution evaluated the footage of the surveillance cameras for three years until they were able to identify and prosecute Dalgalı.^[2] He was prosecuted for manslaughter on the 6 April 2017, but the court decided not to issue an arrest warrant for Dalgalı.^[2] On 3 February 2020, the gendarmery issued a report mentioning that Elvan was partly to blame for his own death, since he was in an area of protests.^[9] After two more hearings in 2021, Dalgalı was sentenced to 16 years and 8 months in prison, but the court abstained from ordering an arrest for Dalgalı.^[14]

Following Elvan's death, protests erupted throughout Turkey in Adana, Adıyaman, Antalya, Ankara,^[15] Ardahan, Bursa, Bolu, Çorum Düzce, Edirne, Gaziantep, Istanbul, İzmir, Konya, Hatay, Malatya, Sivas, Şanlıurfa, Şırnak, Kayseri, Tunceli, Tokat, Zonguldak^[16] and worldwide in cities such as Nuremberg,^[17] London,^[18] Paris, Vienna, Helsinki, Strasbourg,^[19] Stockholm, New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bielefeld, Berlin, Brussels, The Hague, Dresden, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Lausanne, Lisbon, Rotterdam, Stuttgart, Warsaw, Seattle, and Toronto.^[20]

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed that Elvan was a "member of a terrorist organization"; Erdogan’s supporters said Elvan behaved violently and photos of a hooded youth online were circulated online.^[21] Berkin was known to disagree with the governments actions.

In March 2014, Maoist rebels attacked a police station in Tunceli in revenge for Elvan's killing.^[22][23]

On 31 March 2015, suspected members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) took prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz hostage on the sixth floor of the Istanbul Justice Palace. They demanded that the police announce the names of four members of the security services who they said were connected to the death of Berkin Elvan. The police negotiated with the gunmen for six hours, but eventually stormed the courthouse "because of gunshots heard from inside the prosecutor's office". The two gunmen died during the operation, while the prosecutor was badly wounded and later died of his injuries.^[24]

• 2013 protests in Turkey

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Berkin Elvan.

• Death of Berkin Elvan on Twitter (in Turkish)