The last tie has been cut by Berkin

The prosecutor at the forensic medicine institute first says, “No, he cannot enter.”

Berkin Elvan’s funeral was taken to forensic medicine the other day in order to legally determine the cause of his death. An autopsy will be conducted.

The lawyer pursuing this murder and an expert witness, (who is a doctor at the same time), want to monitor the autopsy. It is all right for the expert witness, but the prosecutor objected to the entry of the lawyer.

The funeral waits. There is “can/cannot enter” tension.

İlhan Cihaner - a member of the Parliament on behalf of the opposition Republican’s People Party (CHP) - who was present, interfered and said the lawyer could enter according to the Turkish Penal Code. This proved unsuccessful. Then he showed the Minnesota protocol as a precedent.

Extrajudicial killing

This protocol is a United Nations Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.

Turkey held back on the protocol. When asked three years ago why it was not going to sign it at this convention, Tayyip Erdoğan said, “There are things that we know.” The aim is to obstruct every stage of the investigation for extra-legal execution.

Protests in 52 cities and districts

Berkin’s funeral is not a usual funeral; there are protests in 52 cities and districts. Shops are closed, people stopped their work, and the streets are full of slogans against Erdoğan. The police are the same: Tear gas, batons.

The funeral is extraordinary, Turkey is extraordinary. Those killing Berkin are hiding. The partners of the government are nowhere to be seen. I looked at the pro-government news outlets yesterday; apparently the “Alo line” had been working.

Polis shoot a gas canister at the people, while the media of the government shoot gas canisters at the news of the death: “They are terrorizing. This is provocation.” These are the headlines about the death of Berkin. These headlines and this hiding is a break. The last tie between Erdoğan and the people has been cut by Berkin. Yesterday, Turkey was full of the scene of breaking the tie. It doesn’t matter what ratio of votes you get.

Sami Elvan in good hands

Berkin Elvan’s father is in pain. Sami Elvan works in the company of the Beşiktaş municipality.

As if Elvan’s family has committed a crime, the government, the governor and security department turned their backs on the family. The CHP takes care of it. As they know the situation of the family, the headquarters called the CHP municipalities in Istanbul. Beşiktaş Mayor İsmail Ünal (who is no longer a candidate) hired Elvan. He has been working in Beltaş for the past three months.

Tuncay Özkan

An ambitious and studious youngster came to the office of the Ankara bureau of daily Cumhuriyet. He starts his career in journalism there. We are in the 1980s. I am the bureau chief.

In time, even though the newspapers for which we worked, our professional status and political outlook differ, our friendship was never overshadowed. I visit him in prison, I wrote about him.

On Monday, my telephone rang; it was Tuncay Özkan. He called me an hour after he was released from prison. He thanked me for the support I gave him, saying it is invaluable for those in prison. I was glad to hear his strong voice full of conviction and resistance.