Court board, prosecutors replaced in Berkin Elvan case

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The 18th hearing of the case of Berkin Elvan was held today (December 9) at the İstanbul 17th Heavy Penal Court.

The prosecution's opinion as to the accusations was not submitted to the court as both the court board and the prosecutor's office were replaced.

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The former presiding judge of the court, Caner Rüzgar, was appointed to the Court of Cassation by the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) last week.

The prosecutor of the case submitted an excuse due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the prosecutor who replaced him stated that he could not submit an opinion.

Giving time for the preparation of the opinion as to the accusations, the court ruled that the next hearing should be held on January 29, 2021.

What happened?

On June 16, 2013, Berkin Elvan was hospitalized due to severe head injuries after the police intervention in the district of Okmeydanı in İstanbul. When he was admitted to the Okmeydanı Research Hospital, his heart had reportedly stopped already.

Suffering from a brain hemorrhage, Elvan went through at least five surgeries. On January 5, 2014, he turned 15 in a coma. He died on March 11, 269 days after being shot.

While the prosecutor investigating the incident was changed six times, the investigation was completed on December 7, 2016. Prepared by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the indictment demanded that police officer F.D., who was referred to as the only defendant, be penalized on the charge of "killing with eventual intent." (AS/VK)