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| Turkish prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz held hostage by armed militants over protest death | Turkish prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz held hostage by armed militants over protest death |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Suspected communist militants have taken a chief prosecutor hostage inside an Istanbul court during an investigation into the death of a teenage boy following anti-government protests. | Suspected communist militants have taken a chief prosecutor hostage inside an Istanbul court during an investigation into the death of a teenage boy following anti-government protests. |
| Men believed to be members of the banned Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) posted pictures on social media of a gun being held to Mehmet Selim Kiraz’s head. | Men believed to be members of the banned Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) posted pictures on social media of a gun being held to Mehmet Selim Kiraz’s head. |
| The group’s flag could be seen in the background. | The group’s flag could be seen in the background. |
| The Dogan news agency said shots were heard at the court house when Mr Kiraz was seized and special forces had entered the building after it was evacuated. Anti-government protesters mourn the death of Berkin Elvan, which the prosecutor was investigating | The Dogan news agency said shots were heard at the court house when Mr Kiraz was seized and special forces had entered the building after it was evacuated. Anti-government protesters mourn the death of Berkin Elvan, which the prosecutor was investigating |
| He is investigating the death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan, who was hit by a police gas canister fired during nationwide anti-government protests in 2013. | He is investigating the death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan, who was hit by a police gas canister fired during nationwide anti-government protests in 2013. |
| Tens of thousands of people took to the streets following his injury and subsequent death after 269 days in a coma. | Tens of thousands of people took to the streets following his injury and subsequent death after 269 days in a coma. |
| His death – the eighth related to protests in Gezi Park - re-ignited anger at the government, becoming a further symbol of police and government impunity. | His death – the eighth related to protests in Gezi Park - re-ignited anger at the government, becoming a further symbol of police and government impunity. |
| According to a statement released on halkinsesi.tv, the militants have given authorities until 3.36 pm local time (1.36pm BST) to meet their demands. | According to a statement released on halkinsesi.tv, the militants have given authorities until 3.36 pm local time (1.36pm BST) to meet their demands. |
| Those include a live confession by the police officers suspected of killing Elvan, the prosecution of the officers responsible in a “people’s court” and the acquittal of all people being tried for participation in solidarity rallies after his death, the Hurriyet Daily News reported. | Those include a live confession by the police officers suspected of killing Elvan, the prosecution of the officers responsible in a “people’s court” and the acquittal of all people being tried for participation in solidarity rallies after his death, the Hurriyet Daily News reported. |
| Hüseyin Aygün, a Turkish lawyer and member of parliament with the Republican People's Party, wrote on Twitter that people want “justice, not revenge” for Berkin’s death. | |
| He said he spoke on the phone to the boy’s father, Sami, after the crisis broke out and quoted him as saying: "My son is dead, but someone else should not die. The prosecutor must be released. Blood cannot be washed with blood." The DHKP-C bombed a police station in revenge for Berkin's death in January | |
| Speaking to Hürriyet, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Vedat Yiğit said negotiations between militants and police "continue via a mediator that they picked. | |
| The DHKP-C has been listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and US after a string of assassinations and suicide bombings since its foundation in the 1970s. | |
| It was unclear how militants entered the Çağlayan Justice Palace, thought to be the largest courthouse in Europe, but Istanbul was one of dozens of Turkish cities and provinces hit by a massive power cut today believed to be the country’s worst blackout in years. Shop workers sit in candle light at their shop after a major power cut in Istanbul, Turkey 31 March 2015. | |
| It brought transportation to a standstill, disrupting services and potentially interfering with security systems. | |
| In January, the DHKP-C claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a police station in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district that killed one officer and wounded another, claiming it was to “settle scores” over Berkin's death. | |
| Marxist-Leninist militants said on their website the ruling AK Party was responsible for the explosion and a grenade attack they launched on police at a historic palace near the Prime Minister’s office in Istanbul the week before. | |
| Additional reporting by AP | Additional reporting by AP |