Protester who lost sight due to tear gas canister visits Gezi Park after release from house arrest

HÜRRİYET / ISTANBUL

Hürriyet Photo / Fırat Alkaç

A protester who lost his sight during last year’s brutal police crackdowns on nationwide demonstrations has visited Gezi Park, as a first act after his recent release from house arrest.

A member of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), Çağdaş Küçükbattal was held in house arrest for five months on charges brought as part of the investigation launched against Gezi protesters.

His arrest, which proceeded despite the fact that he lost sight in his left-eye after a tear gas canister hit him, had caused much uproar.

The Istanbul Doctors’ Chamber had slammed the ruling as a violation of the “rights of patients.”

Last week, the court lifted Küçükbattal’s house arrest, releasing him under probationary conditions.