Hundreds of Turkish citizens defied stepped-up security measures in Istanbul adopted for the second anniversary since the Gezi Park protests.

In 2013, what started as an environmental demonstration grew into days-long rallies against the government of then PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan which culminated violently.

Police had sealed off the area around Taksim Square and Gezi park alongside a set of alternative routes to prevent massive gatherings and escalation.

Sezgin Tanr?kulu, Deputy Chair of the oppositional Republican People's Party (CHP), other politicians, and the mother of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan who died after being hit by a gas canister during the riots, also attended the protest, according to H?rriyet Daily News.

Elvan died in March 2014 after spending 269 days in a coma. Five more people had lost their lives in the protests, one of them a police officer.

The commemorative rally held last year was dispersed by police.

On Sunday, authorities had deployed riot police and water cannons to counter tensions.

The group, which commemorated the events peacefully, dispersed early in the afternoon.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!