14-year-old girl wounded in head with tear gas canister during Istanbul protests

ISTANBUL

AA Photo

A 14-year-old girl has been wounded in the head with a tear gas canister in the Gazi neighborhood of Istanbul after police attacked protesters demonstrating against the detention of revolutionaries in the area, according to daily BirGün.

A group of people were protesting the police raid against alleged members of the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) in Istanbul’s Sultangazi district on March 24, when police attacked the gathering with using tear gas to disperse the crowd.

During the protests, a 14-year-old girl, Deniz Genç, was shot in the head by a tear gas canister fired by the police. The teenager was taken into surgery at the GOP Taksim İlkyardım Hospital.

The People’s Law Association announced via its Twitter account that Genç had regained consciousness after falling into critical condition following surgery.

Police raided Gazi early March 24, detaining 14 alleged members of the DHKP-C, during which the police’s anti-riot and special forces branches lent support to the anti-smuggling branch and public security branches with police helicopters and anti-riot vehicles.

Apart from the detainees, two unregistered firearms, two hunting rifles and multiple bullets were seized in the operation.