Officer accused of killing Gezi Park protester Sarısülük given police protection

ISTANBUL

A police officer who allegedly shot and killed Ethem Sarısülük during a Gezi Park protest in Ankara last month has been granted police protection after he reportedly received death threats following a court’s decision to try him without arrest. DHA photo

A police officer who allegedly shot and killed Ethem Sarısülük during a Gezi Park protest in Ankara last month has been granted police protection after he reportedly received death threats following a court’s decision to try him without arrest, daily Hürriyet has reported.

Sarısülük, 26, died from his wounds on June 14 after being shot in the head during a protest in Ankara on June 1.

Police sources said the officer, identified as A.Ş., is being targeted by some media organs and that he has been given police protection after receiving death threats.

But Kazım Bayraktar, a lawyer for the Sarısülük family, said the safest place for A.Ş. was prison, adding that the court’s decision had disturbed many people in society.

“First the judiciary protected him; now he is being provided protection by the police,” he said.

The decision to release A.Ş. late last month on the grounds that he used “legitimate self-defense” in allegedly shooting an unarmed Sarısülük provoked a new wave of angry protests around Turkey.