Statue commemorating Gezi victim Ali İsmail Korkmaz unveiled in Eskişehir

ESKİŞEHİR

The statue’s palms were designed to serve as a birdbath as a symbol for keeping Ali İsmail Korkmaz's memory 'alive.' DHA photo

The statue sculpted by student associations in commemoration of Ali İsmail Korkmaz, a protester who died after being beaten by a group of plainclothes men, during the Gezi protests in Eskişehir, has been officially unveiled today with a small albeit emotional ceremony.
 
The event was also attended by the 19-year-old protester’s mother, Emel Korkmaz, and other relatives who came all the way from the southern province of Hatay.
 
The statue’s palms were designed to serve as a birdbath as a symbol for “keeping his memory alive,” the students who undertook the sculpture said.
 
Ali İsmail’s mother, in tears, filled the palms with water after a press statement.
 
Korkmaz died on July 10 after spending 38 days in a coma induced by the savage beating, which was caught on film by the cameras in the vicinity of a nearby hotel. His death sparked outrage all across Turkey, throwing more fuel onto the fire in a context in which protesters were denouncing the excessive violence used by security forces against demonstrators.
 
The location of the trial was the last matter of contention, as a request by Eskişehir’s Governor’s Office to move it to another city was accepted by the Justice Ministry despite fresh protests. The trial is set to start in the Central Anatolian town of Kayseri on Feb.3, after almost four months of delay.