Prosecutor of Berkin Elvan case taken hostage by DHKP-C

Mehmet Selim Kiraz, a public prosecutor leading the probe into the death of Gezi victim Berkin Elvan, has been taken hostage by members of the The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP/C) in an Istanbul courthouse.

Shocking images have been circulating on the Internet over the last hour, showing a man holding a gun to the head of Kiraz.

According to Turkish media, members of DHKP/C invaded the Turkish courthouse earlier today and captured the public prosecutor, threatening to kill him unless their demands are met.

Berkin Elvan was a 15-year-old Turkish boy who was hit on the head by a tear-gas canister fired by a police officer in Istanbul while out to buy bread for his family during the June 2013 anti-government protests in Turkey. The unfortunate victim of police brutality died on March 11, 2014, following a 269-day coma.

Since then, Elvan has become an icon for far-leftists in the country.