The first trial over the killing of Baran Tursun -- who was fatally shot by police officer O.A. in late November in İzmir after ignoring police officers' calls to stop his vehicle -- was held yesterday at the Karşıyaka 1st Criminal Court. A row ensued during the trial in which Tursun's family members hurled criticism and an egg at O.A.'s lawyer. Tursun, 20, had been shot by O.A. in the back of the neck during a police chase on Nov. 24, 2007. After ignoring police officers' calls to stop his vehicle, Tursun crashed his vehicle in İzmir's Karşıyaka district. Emergency doctors treating Tursun found the cause of his injuries stemmed not from the accident but from a bullet lodged in his head.
Tursun's family along with some 20 police officers were present during the trial, during which Tursun's sister, Şelale Tursun, was sent out of the courtroom after she allegedly threw an egg at O.A.'s lawyer. Tursun's mother, on the other hand, was reportedly prevented by security forces from attacking O.A.'s lawyer.
Tursun's father, Mehmet Tursun, objected to the ballistics report released on Jan. 3 on the bullet removed from Tursun's head by the İzmir Crime Laboratory, which indicated that the bullet in question was shattered and hit Tursun's neck. He said a bullet fired directly cannot shatter and claimed that it either ricocheted off nearby debris or passed through glass before hitting his son.
Mehmet Tursun said police officers are concealing certain evidence related to the case in order to get O.A. acquitted. "A police officer who witnessed the killing of my son that night is ready to make a deposition provided that he is protected," he stated. He later left the chambers, claiming that the trial was not impartial.
