ANKARA
Ugur Soylemez, a 51-year-old member of the Free Gaza Flotilla, has died nearly four years after being critically injured by Israeli forces who boarded the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara.
Soylemez had been held under intensive care at his house in Ankara before being sent to Ataturk Training and Research Hospital one month ago as a result of an infection, officials said on Friday.
Six civilian ships in the flotilla were attacked in international waters by Israeli forces on May 31, 2010, as they tried to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Nine Turkish citizens were killed and 30 others, including Ugur Soylemez, injured.
The raid on the humanitarian aid flotilla - organized by Free Gaza Movement, the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief - raised tensions between Israel and Turkey, which recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2013, but the two countries have not resolved whether, nor how much, compensation should be paid to the families of the victims.
aa.com.tr/en
