Istanbul Courthouse Hostage Situation Ends, Prosecutor Seriously İnjured

A hostage situation involving a Turkish prosecutor who was held captive at an Istanbul courthouse has ended, with two kidnappers dead and the victim seriously injured, police said Tuesday.



"We conducted negotiations for eight hours," Istanbul police chief Selami Altinok said. "Our security forces launched the operation after gunshots were heard from the prosecutor's room while the militants were speaking on the phone with authorities during the negotiations."



Mehmet Selim Kiraz had been handling the case of Berkin Elvan, the boy who was critically injured during 2013's Gezi Park protests and died in March 2014 after falling into a coma for 269 days.



President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the gunmen had entered the Okmeydani district courthouse, where security measures are tight, disguised as lawyers wearing attorney robes. He said the prosecutor was shot multiple times in the head and body and he remained in critical condition. 



A photograph — showing a gunman pointing a weapon at Kiraz's head — was published on a Facebook page claiming to be close to an armed leftist group called the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front.



In the background, a poster read in Turkish: "We want Berkin's murderers."



The Facebook page also said that the DHKP-C members would kill the prosecutor if their demands were not met within three hours.



DHKP-C is a 1978-founded Marxist-Leninist party and is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.



In recent years, the organization has increased its attacks on police officers and foreign consulates.



Last week, DHKP-C allegedly carried out a bomb attack against Istanbul-based Adimlar magazine, a monthly political outlet, killing one writer and wounding three others.



A member of the front also opened fire on police officers at Istanbul's Taksim Square in January. No injuries or casualties were reported, but a police vehicle was damaged.



DHKP-C also conducted an attack against the U.S. Embassy in Ankara in 2013. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the embassy, killing one security officer and wounding several others. 



During the same year, members of the front conducted an attack on the ruling AK Party's headquarters in Ankara and the Ministry of Justice.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Ankara