Suspect sent to court over Gezi protester’s death

ESKİŞEHİR / İZMİR

An unidentified suspect who allegedly attacked deceased Gezi protester Ali İsmail Korkmaz on June 2 in Eskişehir, was sent to court on July 15. The incident continues to cause outrage, with protests being held in Ankara and Hatay.

The Eskişehir Police Department detained several suspects and identified the assailants after examining  security cams belonging to two establishments in the area where Korkmaz was beaten.

The suspects are reportedly civilian people, not undercover police officers.

Footage that shows assailants beating protesters with sticks emerged on July 12 as a part of an investigation into the death of Korkmaz in Eskişehir.

An expert report was handed to the prosecutors’ office after around 40 pieces of video footage were examined.

A group of people are seen in the video beating a protester with sticks that look like baseball bats and pursuing protesters, the report added.

It also highlighted that a section of the footage lasting 18-20 minutes, which was recorded after the beating of the protester began, could not be found, according to daily Radikal.

The government and police have denied any involvement in the disappearance of a portion of camera footage.

Ali İsmail Korkmaz, 19, succumbed to his injuries in hospital on June 10 after being brutally beaten by a group wearing civilian clothes while trying to escape a police tear gas attack on June 2 in Eskişehir.

The protests against the killing continued in Hatay and Ankara late July 14, with police dispersing the groups with water cannons and tear gas.