Turkish prosecutor dies of his wounds after being held hostage in courthouse

A prosecutor taken hostage in an Istanbul courthouse Tuesday died of multiple gunshot wounds after security forces killed his two captors, according to multiple reports.

Mehmet Selim Kiraz served as the lead prosecutor in an investigation pertaining to the death of a Turkish teenager killed during a protest. An hours-long standoff ended with police storming the office where he was held and killing two of his captors, but Kiraz had been shot multiple times in his head and body.

Kiraz was taken to the hospital and died from the wounds, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Turkish television.

Accounts associated with the far-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) had posted images on social media of the prosecutor, who had been identified as Kiraz by the state-run Anadolu Agency, along with a statement listing several demands and a deadline of 3:36 p.m. local time.

Those demands included a televised confession by the officers the group believes are responsible for the death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan. Elvan was the youngest person to die as a result of anti-government protests commonly referred to as the “Gezi protests,” after the park in Istanbul that initially prompted the movement.

The group also wanted the government to drop charges against those who attended protests for Elvan, and for the officers in question to face a trial in a “people’s court,” among other demands.

“We carried out the negotiation for six hours. But our security forces launched the operation after gunshots were heard while terrorists were speaking on the phone during the negotiation,” Istanbul Police Chief Selami Altınok said.