Trial into Gezi protester’s death adjourned

ESKİŞEHİR

Ali İsmail Korkmaz, 19, was beaten with sticks by plainclothes men during the Gezi protests in Eskişehir on June 2. He died of a brain hemorrhage on July 10 after spending 38 days in a coma. DHA photo

The first hearing of a case into the killing of Gezi protester Ali İsmail Korkmaz, in which 25 witnesses were set to testify today, has been suspended until Feb. 28.

The case has been divided into four, as witnesses were set to testify in Eskişehir and Ankara, the family of Korkmaz was to testify in Hatay while the main case, in which the murder suspects will be tried, is set to be held Feb. 3 in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri.

The Eskişehir court adjourned the trial after lawyers of the Korkmaz family made an appeal, saying witnesses should be heard after criminal proceedings first begin against the suspects.

The only police officer among the witnesses, who was captured by security cameras while running with other policemen after Korkmaz, was set to testify in Ankara on Jan. 29.

The main case has been relocated to the Kayseri for “security reasons,” drawing criticism from the public and Korkmaz’s family.

Eight men, including four police officers, face jail time for beating Korkmaz to death.

Korkmaz, 19, was beaten with sticks by plainclothes men during the Gezi protests in Eskişehir on June 2, 2013; he died of a brain hemorrhage on July 10 after spending 38 days in a coma. He is recognized as one of the six martyrs of the Gezi Park resistance.