THE PROSECUTOR INVESTIGATING ETHEM SARISULUK CASE

The prosecutor investigating Ethem Sarisuluk case: Provide me the name of the police officer who fired the gun!

Regarding the case of Ethem Sarisuluk, a worker at Ostim who was injured in head during the first days of protests in Kizilay, experts stated that the gun was aimed directly at Sarisuluk when it was fired. The prosecutor, on the other hand, requested the Police Department to provide the name of the police officer as well as the incident's CCTV recordings.

However the Police Department has not replied to the requests so far. It was found out that there was a metal body in the head of Ethem Sarisuluk, the 26-year-old worker at Ostim who was injured in head during the first days of protests in Kizilay. The body cannot be a plastic bullet or gas bomb shell, according to findings.

Sarisuluk who was taken to hospital is kept in intensive care unit as doctors believe that the risk of his dying during an operation is quite high. Sarisuluk's lawyer Bayraktar stated that he was not brain dead as claimed by social media speculations.

Brain Death Speculations Are False

Bayraktar stated that the speculations regarding the brain death of Sarisuluk who is still being treated in Ankara Numune Hospital were false. "My client is not brain dead. He is still in critical condition. His family is quite upset about false speculations. Media should take necessary care." he said.

Mr. Veli Dalgali, the prosecutor working on the case, investigated the incident scene. Three witnesses and Attorney Bayraktar joined the scene investigation. After an investigation that took 4 hours, the prosecutor and expert group prepared the proceedings.

'The gun was fired by aiming'

According to a report by Kemal Goktas from Vatan Newspaper, one of the witnesses who is a retired military stated that he saw a uniformed riot police officer who fired his gun when Sarisuluk was in the crowd. "The same police officer fired his gun a few times and Sarisuluk fell on the ground", he said.

The prosecutor asked the expert group whether the bullet could have hit Sarisuluk after it bounced back from the ground. The expert group stated that there was no possibility for the bullet to bounce back from the ground in the given position.

The prosecutor requested a comprehensive report from the expert group. Also, the identity of the concerned police officer and video footages of the incident were requested from the Police Department. However, after 6 days since the request, the Police Department still has not replied.

The Riot Police Shot with Gun

Another witness of the case, Mr. Ismail Kizilcay, stated that he saw Sarisuluk's being shot by riot police in a location between Guvenpark and YKM. While I was passing by, I saw riot police firing a gun at the guy shot. When the guy fell on the ground, I asked people to call 112. We stopped an ambulance that was passing by and took the injured to hospital.

Only one police officer fired the gun

Attorney Bayraktar, in his statement, said that when the camera footages are combined, it is seen that one police officer separates from the group, leaves his shield on the ground, walks towards protestors, kicks one person first, then fires his gun aiming first the sky and then the protestors.

Bayraktar said that the witnesses explained the way Sarisuluk was shot and they told that he was shot by a police officer. He added, " By not giving out the name of the involved police officer, the police chief is in breach of law as he protects a criminal and defends a crime".