Parents of boy killed in Gezi Protests accused of insulting President Erdoğan

The parents of Berkin Elvan, the 15-year-old Kurdish boy killed during the 2013 Gezi Protests, face charges of insulting the president. The parents had called President Erdoğan a terrorist in response to his deeming their son as such, and had said that he was Elvan's killer as he said publicly that he had given the order.

Thursday September 30 2021 04:03 pm

Duvar English

Parents of Berkin Elvan, the 15-year-old Kurdish boy who was killed by a police grenade during the Gezi Protests of 2013, are facing charges of insulting the president for statements they made following a hearing for their son's death, Medyascope reported on Sept. 30.

Gülsüm Elvan and Sami Elvan had mentioned a statement by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that he had given the order and that his police had written an epic.

"The real killer in our case is the president," the parents had said. "My child's killer is the person who was prime minister at the time, and is the president at the moment."

The mother had also noted that the president made the crowd boo her in a 2014 rally, and dubbed Berkin Elvan a "terrorist."

"My child was 14 when you shot him. He couldn't even bathe alone, I'd help him. Then he became a terrorist. Is there a bigger terrorist than you?" the mother had said.

Sami Elvan also said that the president was his son's killer, and the police officer who fired the grenade a "hitman."

The prosecutor accused the parents of insulting Erdoğan by saying that he was a terrorist and a killer, and the parents maintained that they had only stated the truth.

The officer who fired the grenade that killed Berkin Elvan was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison as well as a ban on international travel.