Gezi victim’s father working in construction of foundation for his son

HATAY

Şahap Yılmaz, a construction worker by profession, is one of the employees renovating the building in his hometown of Antakya, which will host the Ali İsmail Korkmaz Foundation.

The father of Ali İsmail Korkmaz, a young student who died after being fatally beaten by plainclothes police during last year’s Gezi protests in Eskişehir, has put himself to work in the construction of a foundation that will contribute to keeping his son’s memory alive.

Şahap Yılmaz, a construction worker by profession, was one of the employees renovating the building in their hometown of Antakya that will host the foundation, along with other family members and relatives.

The Ali İsmail Korkmaz Foundation will carry out a number of projects, including one that was designed by Korkmaz when he was young and involved collecting books to distribute them for children living in rural villages.

The foundation will also provide scholarships to support young students involved in social projects.

The footage showing plainclothes officers administrating the fatal beating that emerged last year had sparked nationwide outrage, drawing global attention to the impunity with which Turkish police officers are permitted to act.

The trial into the murder started in February in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri, after it was controversially moved from Eskişehir following a decision from the Justice Ministry for alleged security reasons.