Death toll rises to five in Gezi protests as 19-year-old dies in Eskişehir

ESKİŞEHİR

Ali İsmail Korkmaz, who was beaten by unidentified people in Eskişehir in protests on June 2, has succumbed to his injuries in hospital. DHA photo

A 19-year-old protester who was beaten by unidentified people in Eskişehir in protests on June 2 succumbed to his injuries in hospital on June 10, a local daily has reported.

Ali İsmail Korkmaz, who was trying to escape a police tear gas attack, was brutally beaten by a group wearing civilian clothes, according to local daily 2 Eylül.

Korkmaz’s heart stopped working today at around 11 a.m., the daily said. His assailants have not been detained.

The university student is the fourth protester to die so far in the Gezi demonstrations, after Mehmet Ayvalıtaş in Istanbul, Abdullah Cömert in Antakya and Ethem Sarısülük in Ankara. Ayvalıtaş, 20, was hit by a car during the protests and Cömert, 22, died after receiving a hit to his head. Sarısülük, 26, died from his wounds on June 14 after being shot in the head.

Police officer Mustafa Sarı also died after falling from a bridge while pursuing fleeing protesters in Adana.

The Gezi Park events, which have been ongoing for over a month, have also left dozens of people seriously injured due to the police’s heavy-handed attacks against demonstrations.