STRASBOURG, France
Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland condemned Wednesday the death of a Turkish prosecutor who was taken hostage by two gunmen a day earlier.
"I strongly condemn yesterday’s terrorist attack on a courthouse in Istanbul,” read a statement issued by Jagland's office. "I extend my condolences to the family of Prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz and to the people of Turkey."
Jagland said the hostage crisis "demonstrates the immense threat of extremism which Turkey and many European states are facing today."
"Extremists, whether political or religious, attempt to destabilize our democratic societies. We must be united in fighting terrorism and united in fighting its causes," he added.
Mehmet Selim Kiraz, 46, died at Istanbul's Florence Nightingale Hospital after being shot multiple times in the head and body by two terrorists who held him hostage Tuesday in his office at the courthouse. The terrorists were later killed by police.
He had been handling the case of Berkin Elvan, the 15-year-old boy who was critically injured during 2013's Gezi Park protests and died in March 2014 following a 269-day coma.
France's Foreign Ministry also condemned the death of Kiraz saying that "France supports the Turkish authorities and people in their fight against all forms of terrorism."
