Berkin Elvan, a 15-year-old Turkish boy, died on March 11th after spending 269 days in a coma. Elvan was buying bread in his neighbourhood last June when a tear-gas canister struck his skull during a brutal police crackdown against demonstrations in Istanbul.
As news of the boy’s death spread, the city’s streets filled with mourners and protesters shouting anti-government slogans in a massive outpouring of grief and rage against police brutality and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian government. The demonstrations were the largest and angriest protests seen in Turkey since last summer, leading to violent clashes with police.
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