Court rules to survey Gezi victim’s death scene two years after death

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

An Istanbul court issued a ruling on June 24 to survey the scene where Gezi victim Mehmet Ayvalıtaş died after being hit by a vehicle during a march in support for the 2013 Gezi Park demonstrations. The survey is set to be held at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 14, 2015.

Ali Ayvalıtaş, the father of the Gezi victim, told reporters that, after the eighth court hearing in the case investigating the death, he was pleased for the first time and hopeful that justice would eventually come. 

“They [the court committee] made a decision to survey the area with my attorneys’ push. I hope we bring justice to Turkey. I am having a hard time. I still mourn my son. I was beaten in the previous court hearing.

They insulted my children. An undercover police officer uttered swear words at my sister, my daughter and my nephews and he hit my attorney,” said Ali Ayvalıtaş after the court’s ruled for the death scene’s investigation. 

“We are not terrorists. We love this land, this flag, these people and the Republic. We love all human beings regardless of their race and religion.” 

Ayvalıtaş also said the security measures taken around the court building had been more than necessary and that the people outside the court were not provocative. 

“You see how they [the police] cordoned off the courthouse. People here are not apt to commit effusive acts.
The police do those kinds of acts themselves. They torture; they have fired tear gas. My wife was gassed and then died of a heart attack,” he said. 

Ömer Kavili, Ayvalıtaş’s attorney, said the court was not fully capable of collecting necessary evidence and that the court committee had to rule for the surveying of the scene. A death scene investigation should have been done first, he said, and it was delayed arbitrarily for the past seven court hearings.

Sevgi Evren, another attorney of Ayvalıtaş, said their demand received a positive response after being rejected in the past seven court sessions. 

“Now, we are in a normal process. I think this is how a fight won in the streets is reflected in court,” she added.

The ruling came more than two years after Mehmet Ayvalıtaş died, hit by a vehicle during a march in support for the Gezi Park demonstrations in 2013.