A 19-year-old university student who was hurt during anti-government protests that rocked Turkey last month has died from his injuries, bringing the death toll in the unrest to five, local media reported on Wednesday.
Ali Ismail Korkmaz, who joined the demos on June 2 in the central Anatolian city of Eskisehir, suffered a brain hemorrhage when unidentified assailants attacked him while he was fleeing from tear gas, the Dogan News Agency reported.
The Turkish Medical Association told AFP it could not confirm the latest casualty.
The deadly wave of protests presented Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan with the most serious challenge to its rule since it came to power more than a decade ago.
The unrest flared when police cracked down on a peaceful sit-in against plans to redevelop Istanbul's Gezi Park, which then snowballed into nationwide protests that saw some 2.5 million take to the streets.
The government's heavy-handed response during nearly three weeks of protests left nearly 8,000 injured and elicited outcry from protesters and human rights groups.
Gezi Park was reopened to the public on Monday. Turkish police fired rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas at a group of demonstrators who had come to the park.
(With AFP)
