Turkish prosecutor dies after being held hostage in a courthouse, reports say

By Abby Ohlheiser and Elahe Izadi March 31 at 6:12 PM

A prosecutor taken hostage in an Istanbul courthouse Tuesday died of multiple gunshot wounds after security forces killed his two captors, according to multiple reports.

Mehmet Selim Kiraz served as the lead prosecutor in an investigation pertaining to the death of a Turkish teenager killed during a protest. An hours-long standoff ended with police storming the office where he was held and killing two of his captors, but Kiraz had been shot multiple times in his head and body, Reuters reported.

Kiraz was taken to the hospital and died from the wounds, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Turkish television, CNN Turkey reported.

Accounts associated with the far-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) had posted images on social media of the prosecutor, who had been identified as Kiraz by the state-run Anadolu Agency, along with a statement listing several demands and a deadline of 3:36 p.m. local time, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Those demands, according to Reuters, included a televised confession by the officers the group believes are responsible for the death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan. Elvan was the youngest person to die as a result of anti-government protests commonly referred to as the “Gezi protests,” after the park in Istanbul that initially prompted the movement.

The group also wanted the government to drop charges against those who attended protests for Elvan, and for the officers in question to face a trial in a “people’s court,” among other demands.

“We carried out the negotiation for six hours. But our security forces launched the operation after gunshots were heard while terrorists were speaking on the phone during the negotiation,” Istanbul Police Chief Selami Altınok said, Hurriyet reported.

Turkish special forces evacuated an Istanbul courthouse where a prosecutor is being held at gunpoint by a leftist Turkish group. Police say negotiations are underway with two of the militants. (Reuters)

As Reuters noted, the deadline announced by the hostage takers had long passed before news of Kiraz’s death was made public. Several media organizations working in Turkey reported that the government issued amedia ban on news of the hostage situation.

According to Hurriyet, officials don’t know how armed members of DHKP-C were able to enter the courthouse. Special forces had been dispatched to the scene and entered the building, which was evacuated.

Elvan died in March 2014, nine months after he was hit in the head with a tear gas canister. According to the Associated Press, Elvan was on his way to buy bread when he was hit. His death prompted another round of protests in the country.

In a tweet quoted by Hurriyet, Elvan’s father, Sami Elvan, said that he doesn’t want anyone to get “even a nosebleed,” adding that he simply wants justice and a fair trial for the death of his son. Speaking to BBC Turkish, Sami Elvan said: “My son is dead but let no one else die. You can’t wash blood with blood.”

The DHKP-C is considered a terrorist group by both Turkey and the United States. In 2013, the group attacked the U.S. Embassy Ankara with a suicide bomber.

[This post has been updated multiple times]