Protestor dies in Kurdish party-led demo in Turkey
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Protestors and police clashed in eastern Turkey at a demonstration organized by pro-Kurdish party DTP, leaving one demonstrator dead and 14 police injured as the pro-Kurdish DTP claimed on Thursday he was killed by the police. The demonstrator, Mehmet Deniz, died in hospital overnight after being hit in the head with a stone in clash with police.
Tension remained high in the eastern town Ercis, Van as the mourners hurled stones at security forces in Deniz's funeral on Thursday.
The official Anatolian Agency reported the security forces fired shots in air to disperse the crowed. Fourteen police were injured in the original clashes late Wednesday, one of them seriously, and 101 people were detained, Van police chief Mehmet Salih Kesmez told AA.
The festival, organized by DTPÂ to celebrate the March 8 Women's Day on Wednesday, later turned into a demonstration in favor of outlawed PKK. Police used tear gas and fired shots in the air as demonstrators chanted slogans in favor of the outlawed separatist PKK and hurled stones at security forces, according to media reports.
DTP protested the death of Deniz, claiming he was killed by police under custody. "Our citizen Mehmet Deniz, 58, was beaten to death by a group of police officers with batons and planks after the March 8 festival held in Van's Ercis town on Wednesday", DTP said in a statement. "We are facing a government which has a tradition of aggressively surpassing every legitimate demand for more rights", it added.Â
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