Turkey’s top appeals court has upheld a prison sentence handed down to a police officer who was convicted of causing the death of a minor during the anti-government Gezi Park protests in İstanbul in 2013, the Birgün daily reported on Friday.
The Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the prison sentence of almost 17 years given to police officer Fatih Dalgalı, who hit 14-year-old Berkin Elvan in the head with a tear gas canister.
Elvan died on March 11, 2014 after remaining in a coma for 269 days. He was 14 when the police officer shot him in the head with a tear gas canister and 15 when he died.
In 2021 the İstanbul 17th High Criminal Court sentenced police officer Fatih Dalgalı, the only suspect in the case, to 16 years, eight months in prison.
Dalgalı was not arrested but was placed under judicial supervision with a travel ban.
In 2023 a regional appeals court upheld the sentence.
With the decision of the top appeals court, the sentence is finalized and the officer, who didn’t spend a single day in prison, will start serving his time.
Elvan’s parents were defendants in a years-long trial due to their remarks holding then-prime minister and current president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan responsible for Berkin’s death because he ordered the police to use excessive force to suppress the protests.
Erdoğan branded Berkin a terrorist at a rally in 2014 and let the crowd boo his mother.
In April an İstanbul court sentenced Sami Elvan, the boy’s father, to 14 months in prison and his mother, Gülsüm, to 11 months. The court suspended the sentences, meaning that the defendants will not serve their sentences unless they commit a repeat offense within a set period.
In February 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found a rights violation in the death of Elvan. The rights court said the Turkish authorities failed to conduct an effective investigation into government officials’ possible roles in the death of the teenager.
The mass protests that rocked the country in 2013 started over plans to demolish Gezi Park, one of the rare green spaces in central İstanbul.
The anger quickly spiraled into broader protests against Erdoğan over his authoritarian policies, such as controlling the media and the judiciary.
The Erdoğan government’s harsh response to the Gezi protestors left 11 people dead and thousands injured.