Berkin Elvan, a teenager who was struck in the head with a gas canister fired by a police officer during the anti-government Gezi Park protests in İstanbul in 2013 and subsequently succumbed to his injuries, was commemorated on Tuesday at his grave by his family and human rights advocates, the BirGün daily reported.
The family of the late Berkin Elvan spoke at his gravesite, expressing their ongoing pain over his death and criticizing authorities for failing to deliver justice. “Today, we are gathered here once again, right next to our Berkin, on the 11th anniversary of his death.
“For years we have been fighting for justice. With patience and persistence, we continue this struggle. We have only one demand, which is that every person involved in our son’s killing be prosecuted and receive the punishment they deserve.”
Elvan’s family said those responsible — starting with then-prime minister and current president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who said, “I gave the order,” as well as then-Istanbul police chief Hüseyin Çapkın, Istanbul governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu and Fatih Dalgalı, the police officer who killed their son — must be held accountable.
On June 18, 2021 the İstanbul 17th High Criminal Court sentenced officer Dalgalı, the only suspect in Elvan’s death, to life in prison on charges of “premeditated murder,” but the sentence was reduced to 16 years, eight months.
The court did not arrest Dalgalı but put him under judicial supervision and imposed a travel ban. Although Dalgalı was sentenced to prison, he has not served any time, as his sentence has yet to be upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
Berkin Elvan’s parents, Gülsüm and Sami Elvan, have frequently spoken to the media, criticizing what they describe as the judiciary’s failure to deliver timely justice. Their outspokenness has made them targets of Erdoğan, who publicly attacked them at a 2014 rally, branding Berkin a terrorist and inciting the crowd to boo Gülsüm Elvan.
During the commemoration, Elvan’s parents said they were “longing for justice” as the police officer who killed their son had yet to serve a day in prison and was still on the job. To make matters worse, their suffering had been ridiculed by individuals they believed to be government supporters. “We frequently receive prank calls mocking our son’s death, and despite filing countless complaints with the prosecutor, no investigation has ever been launched,” they said.
The crowd gathered at the gravesite and marched through the cemetery, holding photographs of Berkin Elvan.
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.
Berkin Elvan was among those who were killed during the protests. He 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 passed away.
In 2023 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey had violated Elvan’s right to life. The court also said Turkey failed to conduct an effective investigation into government officials’ possible roles in the death of the teenager.
