Nation-wide protests in Turkey Wednesday evening following the funeral of a 15-year-boy, Berkin Elvan, left two dead and two injured.
A police officer, 30-year-old Ahmet Kucuktag, had a heart attack when he intervened in a group of protesters throwing stones, Molotov cocktails and fireworks while on duty in the eastern city of Tunceli, according to an official statement from Tunceli Police Department.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Burak Can Karamanoglu was shot dead when a scuffle between two groups turned into an armed fight in the Istanbul neighbourhood of Okmeydani where the funeral took place.
Thousands of people attended the funeral of Elvan who died last week after being in a coma for 269 days resulting from being hit in the head by a gas canister fired by police in Istanbul in June 2013.
Elvan reportedly was going to buy bread when he was caught up in the Gezi park protests, which started as protest of a construction project in Gezi Park in Taksim district of Istanbul, then spread to several other cities, leaving seven dead, including a police officer.
Investigation opens into death of Turkish man after funeral
Istanbul’s prosecution office said that it has launched an official investigation into Burak Can Karamanoglu’s death.
The 22-year-old was shot dead when a scuffle between two groups turned into an armed fight in the Istanbul neighborhood of Okmeydani during the nationwide protests over the death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan.
Burak Can’s father, Halil, pleaded for calm and said that he has no affiliation with any leftist or right wing groups. “Turkey belongs to all of us,” he told journalists outside Istanbul’s forensic medicine building while he waited for his son's body.
A close relative of Burak Can claimed that there was no scuffle. "Someone among the protestors opened fire and killed Burak Can. That's all," Dursun Eker said.
The protests across Turkey this week were sparked by the death of Berkin Elvan who last year in June was reportedly going to buy bread when he was hit in the head by a gas canister during a police crackdown against the Gezi protests in Istanbul. The Gezi park protests started as a reaction to a construction project in Gezi Park in the Taksim district of Istanbul, the protests then spread to several other cities, leaving seven dead, including a policeman.
Meanwhile, Burak Can’s death sparked a small protest in Okmeydani. Dozens tried to march but were stopped by security forces.
Burak Can’s body will be flown to the northern city of Giresun for burial after a religious ceremony in Istanbul.
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