Turkish prosecutor taken hostage in Istanbul courthouse by DHKP-C terror organization

Turkish police has launched an operation at the courthouse where the prosecutor is being held as hostage, gunshots has been reportedly heard on Tuesday evening at 9:00 pm.

The prosecutor of Berkin Elvan case, Mehmet Selim Kiraz was taken hostage by outlawed terrorist organization DHKP-C members in Istanbul's Çağlayan courthouse on Tuesday. Militants of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front group (DHKP-C) demanded that police officers involved in Berkin Elvan's case "confess to the killing" of the teenager, a Gezi Park protester.

Two terrorists reportedly came to the courthouse at 12:30 and one took the prosecutor hostage while the other forced Kiraz's clerk out. Istanbul police chief said at around 16.30 local time that negotiations were under way with the two assailants.

The security forces who arrived at the scene heard two gunshots as they tried to open the room's door. The floor where the prosecutor's office is located was evacuated and intense security measures were taken, while police teams, ambulances and firefighters were deployed to the courthouse. The Turkish Prime Ministry imposed a media ban on coverage of the hostage-taking incident later on in the day.

Photos of a terrified prosecutor with a gun pointed to his head emerged earlier in the day on a Twitter account linked to the terrorist organization. Photos show a masked man in a suit holding a pistol to Kiraz's head while the prosecutor sits gagged. Two posters showing a red star, a hammer and sickle symbol that constitutes the flag of the terrorist organization are seen hung on the wall behind the prosecutor's desk. Another poster next to them shows a masked youth, allegedly Berkin Elvan, with a caption reading "we want Berkin's killers."

Berkin Elvan was a Gezi Park protester who died in March 2014 after spending 269 days in a coma due to injuries reportedly inflicted by a tear gas canister fired by police during the mass riots in 2013. Kiraz was probing the death of Elvan.

A Facebook account linked to the DHKP-C listed the demands of the hostage-takers and gave a deadline of 15:36 p.m. – three hours after the prosecutor was taken hostage - for authorities to fulfill the demands and threatened to kill him otherwise. The demands included permission to let them leave the courthouse unharmed, a live broadcast confession of the "policemen who killed Berkin Elvan," their handover to the DHKP-C militants, dismissal of charges against rioters who participated in rallies for Elvan and negotiating with a delegation including an opposition lawmaker and several lawyers. The investigation into Elvan's death is still underway, though no charges were brought forward against any suspects.

The same account released a purported audio message by militants. One of the militants speaking on the phone says they follow "the path of Mahir Çayan," a far-left militant who was killed in a clash by security forces on March 30, 1972. Çayan was a senior leader of an organization from which the DHKP-C splintered from. The militant mentioned the names of Gezi Park rioters killed in clashes with police in 2013 and said they would "fulfill their promise to avenge their deaths."

Soon after the incident, the sprawling complex, the largest courthouse on Istanbul's European side, was evacuated and officers from Turkish National Police's Special Forces entered the building.

It is not known how the militants sneaked guns into the courthouse where high security measures are in place around the clock. Except courthouse officials, every visitor to the building is obliged to pass through a X-ray scan. Rumors were circulating that the militants used a forged ID to enter the courthouse without being searched. Several media outlets reported that one of the militants was a lawyer, releasing his initials as Ş.Y. and claimed he was detained in a previous operation against the DHKP-C but was released later.

Berkin Elvan has become a symbol for terrorist organizations following his death and the DHKP-C staged violent riots after the young protester succumbed to death in March 2014. A teenager was killed by suspected militants of the terrorist organization when he was caught in crossfire in Istanbul's Okmeydanı district. The Çağlayan courthouse is located in the same district where the DHKP-C draws support from the working-class neighborhoods there.

Upon hearing of the hostage crisis, Berkin Elvan's father has reportedly said that the prosecutor must be released, and that "blood cannot be washed away with blood".