An expert report submitted during a hearing on Wednesday identified the police officer who had fired a tear gas canister that hit 15-year-old Berkin Elvan on the head during countrywide protests in 2013, causing him to lose his life following a 269-day coma, the Artı Gerçek news website reported.
The report pointed to Fatih Dalgalı, one of the suspects in the trial, as the police officer who fired a tear gas canister at Elvan after a series of examinations conducted on video footage of the incident.
Notably, the report concluded, based on the time span between the firing of the canister and the victim falling to the ground, that it was highly unlikely the canister had ricocheted off the ground.
Can Atalay, a lawyer for the Elvan family, demanded Dalgalı be put under arrest since the expert report exposed the fact that he deliberately took aim at the 15-year-old.
The court, however, did not rule for arrest and the trial was adjourned to Feb. 27.
The Gezi Park protests were started by a group of environmentalists protesting the destruction of the park to resurrect a historic building and erect a shopping mall in the area.
After police used excessive violence against the protesters, thousands of people gathered in Taksim Square where Gezi Park is located, and turned the demonstration into a massive protest against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
