Four arrested in probe into killing of Gezi protester

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Ali İsmail Korkmaz's death after being beaten by aggressors in civilian clothes sparked a national outrage. DHA photo

Four people, reportedly including a police officer, were arrested today in Eskişehir in the investigation into the killing of Ali İsmail Korkmaz.

The arrests came after the Gendarmerie Criminal Unit rescued security camera footage showing a group of people beating Korkmaz. The footage had been earlier reported as erased.

Eight people, including four public employees were detained earlier today, while four of the suspects were later released.

One of the arrested public employees is a police officer in the anti-terrorism unit, identified as M.S., daily Radikal reported.

Korkmaz, 19, was the fifth person killed since the start of the protests in late May.
 
Footage that showed assailants in civilian clothes beating protesters with sticks emerged on July 12 as part of an investigation into the death of Korkmaz, who was buried in his hometown of Hatay on July 11 after spending weeks in hospital with severe injuries sustained during the beating.
 
A group of people are seen in the video beating Korkmaz with sticks that look like baseball bats and pursuing protesters, according to reports.

Eskişehir Chief Public Prosecutor Orhan Çetingül said the security forces were searching for another suspect believed to be involved in the death of Korkmaz. Çetingül also confirmed that the video footage had been tampered with. “The gendarmerie rescued the footage, which showed one unidentified victim and Ali İsmail Korkmaz being beaten,” the chief public prosecutor told a press conference.

One of the alleged killers of Korkmaz, identified as S.K., was arrested July 20 pending trial.