Istanbul protesters take 'Ellen selfie' from the back of a police van

Selfie taker crammed 14 into shot

The protesters seemed unperturbed by their arrest (Ali Emre Mazlumoğlu/Twitter)

It seems there is no limit to the copycats of Ellen DeGeneres' Oscars selfie, with protesters in Istanbul getting in on the act during clashes in the Turkish city.

The group even managed to top the chat show host in terms of numbers, cramming 14 people into the shot compared to Ellen's 12, which was taken in an environment much less glamorous than Los Angeles' Dolby Theater: the back of a police van.

The image was posted on Twitter by Ali Emre Mazlumoğlu on 10 March, attracting thousands of retweets.

Another pair of citizens caught in the middle of the riots also stopped for a smartphone pic (below), taken in front of a line of officers.

Police and people clashed on the streets of Istanbul this week, tensions bubbling over following the funeral of a 15-year-old boy who died when he was struck on the head by a tear gas canister fired by police in June 2013.

Ellen's original record-breaking selfie (AP)

Berkin Elvan died on Tuesday after 269 days in a coma caused by a tear-gas canister fired by police during anti-government protests last year.

His death has sparked renewed anger at the government at a time when the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is already facing pressure over allegations of corruption.

Mr Erdogan has taken a series of controversial steps – including removing police and prosecutors from key positions – which critics say are aimed at stalling investigations into him and his allies.

The corruption allegations surfaced in December with the news that several high-profile businessmen and the family members of three members of parliament had been arrested in a wide-reaching police investigation.

Protests have been raging since Berkin's death, starting in Gezi Park, Istanbul before spreading across Turkey.