By Gokhan Duzyol
IZMIR (AA) - An autopsy of the body of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish American activist who was killed by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank on Sept. 6, revealed a bullet entry from a firearm in the lower ear area, sources familiar with her case said on Saturday.
Eygi was fatally injured by gunfire to the head during a peaceful demonstration in the West Bank and later died in a hospital.
Her body last Friday was brought to Türkiye’s Izmir province, where the Izmir Forensic Medicine Institution began an autopsy.
Initial findings from the autopsy identified a head injury caused by a bullet entry from a firearm in the lower ear area.
Eygi’s cause of death was determined to be a skull fracture, brain hemorrhage, and brain tissue damage.
It was confirmed that there was a bullet entry wound in her head, but no exit wound.
Metallic fragments found in the head were sampled for ballistic analysis.
The institution’s autopsy is ongoing.
- Killing of activist Eygi by Israeli soldiers
Israeli soldiers opened fire on participants during a peaceful demonstration in the occupied West Bank, Eygi, who was supporting Palestinians and also held US citizenship, was critically injured by a gunshot to the head.
Eygi was transported to a Palestinian hospital but died on Sept. 6 despite doctors’ best efforts.
As coordinated by Türkiye’s Embassy in Tel Aviv and Consulate General in Jerusalem, Eygi's body was transported from Tel Aviv to Baku, Azerbaijan and then to Istanbul and Izmir, where it was received with ceremonies.
After forensic procedures in Izmir but with some autopsy procedures ongoing, Eygi's body was taken to the coastal city of Didim in the Aegean province of Aydin.
Eygi was a human rights activist and a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement, which supports Palestinians with peaceful and civilian methods against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
US citizen Rachel Corrie, who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003, was part of the same movement.
*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi in Istanbul