Teen Killed in Turkey Protests Died of Head Injury
A teenage protester killed during last year's mass street demonstrations in Turkey died of head injuries, according to autopsy reports presented Monday to the court trying police officers for his death.
Ali Ismail Korkmaz, 19, died after being pummeled with baseball bats and truncheons in the western city of Eskisehir in June last year -- one of eight people killed in the three weeks of unrest that threw up a serious challenge to the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
One of the autopsy reports read out during a hearing in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri revealed that Korkmaz died of a brain hemorrhage after being hit on the head, the private Dogan news agency reported.
"Korkmaz would not have died had he not suffered from a head trauma," it added.
Another autopsy report showed the injuries sustained to the teenager's head and face were strong enough to pose a risk to his life, according to Dogan.
It also suggested that the pills the boy had been taking to treat a cardiovascular disease had worsened the brain hemorrhage and increased the risk of death.
Authorities moved the trial nearly 350 miles (560 kilometers) east of Eskisehir to Kayseri for security reasons and police put in place heightened security measures around the courthouse.
Korkmaz's mother Emel had to be removed from the courtroom as she could not bear hearing the graphic details of her son's death.
Eight men -- four police officers and four civilians -- are accused of premeditated murder and face between 10 years and life behind bars if convicted.
The co-chair of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party the People's Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, a candidate in the August presidential election, attended Monday's hearing, along with opposition lawmakers.
"The murder of a young person by being beaten due to hatred requires us to question the stage we have reached in Turkey and to ask ourselves about consciousness of humanity," Demirtas said.
The trial was adjourned to October 9.
Source: Agence France Presse
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