Turkey braces itself for more protests as the funeral for a teenage boy injured during last year’s anti-government protests is due to take place in Istanbul.
The 15-year-old, Berkin Elvan was walking to buy bread when he was struck in the head by a tear gas canister during the unrest in the city in June. Turkish riot police fired tear gas at nearly 1,000 protesters on Tuesday who gathered outside the hospital in Istanbul where Elvan died.
The story of Elvan, who spent 269 days in a coma, gripped the nation and became a symbol of the heavy-handed tactics used by police to reign in the biggest demonstrations that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had faced since coming to power in 2003. We lost our son Berkin Elvan at 0700 (0500 GMT). May he rest in peace,”his family wrote on Twitter.
