Turkish teenager wounded in Gezi protests wakes up after two weeks in coma

ISTANBUL

The family and friends of Mustafa Ali Tombul were relieved as he woke up from his coma on July 21. DHA photo

17-year-old Mustafa Ali Tombul’s has finally woken up from the coma he has been in since being hit in the head by a tear gas capsule during the Gezi Park protests, and is now on the path to recovery.

He had been in a coma at the Taksim Research and Education Center since receiving a blow to the head from a tear gas capsule fired by police during an intervention in the Tarlabaşı neighboorhod on July 9.

Tombul only managed to speak one day after waking up on July 21. The teenage protester is said to have uttered, “I missed mother” as his first words, and he is now slowly learning to move his body again, according to daily Hurriyet.

A minor edema is still present in Mustafa’s brain, but that soon will be treated, Mustafa’s mother, Öznur Karaağaç Aygün, told reporters.

Tombul is currently being treated at the Taksim hospital where Lobna Allami, a Turkish citizen of Palestinian origin, also received treatment after being injured by a gas canister. She was discharged July 19, after undergoing two brain surgeries.

However, Berkin Elvan, who was attacked after stepping out to buy bread during a police intervention in Istanbul’s Okmeydanı neighborhood on June 15, is still in intensive care.

Five people have died and thousands have been injured since the Gezi protests erupted in late May, when Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality attempted to cut down trees in Taksim’s most iconic park, sparking anger in Istanbul and cities around the country.