Pepper spray victim dies in hospital in Turkey
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet
DHA Photo
A 31-year-old man, hit by police pepper spray two days ago in the Marmara province of Yalova, died in hospital today, his doctor told Hürriyet Daily News.
Çayan Birben was officially declared brain dead yesterday.
Birben was reportedly attempting to separate people who were fighting on the street when he became trapped in the melee just as law enforcement officers arrived to break up the crowd with the gas.
Birben, who had asthma and experiences panic attacks, was immediately taken to Yalova State Hospital after fainting due to the effects of the spray.
The man’s family has reportedly filed a complaint with prosecutors. “My nephew had told the police not to use [the spray] because he had asthma,” a relative of Birben said.
