Gunmen take Turkish prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz hostage over 2013 death of teenager Berkin Elvan
A Turkish prosecutor has been left fighting for his life after a far-left Turkish group took him hostage and threatened to kill him over the handling of an investigation into the death of a teenager in 2013.
Two of his captors were killed when security forces stormed the offices of Mehmet Selim Kiraz earlier today, while the prosecutor was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) stormed the offices earlier today. The group published a picture of Kiraz with a gun held to his head, saying it would kill him unless its demands were met.
The group said it wants the police officer it blames for 15-year-old Berkin Elvan's death to confess on television. It also wants all officers involved to be tried in "people's courts", and charges against those who attended protests for Elvan to be dropped.
Elvan suffered a severe head wound during an anti-government protest, and was in a coma for nine months before eventually dying.
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DHKP-C is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States, European Union and Turkey.
(Source: Getty)
The hostage situation unfolded on the same day a major power cut struck the country.
“We're considering all probabilities behind nationwide power outage, including terrorism,” he said.