Two Turkish children in Iraqi prison brought to Turkey

ANKARA

An eight-year-old boy and a six-year old girl who were jailed in an Iraqi prison after being kidnapped by their ISIL member mother have been brought to Turkey with the efforts of the Foreign Ministry.

Umut K. and Nisa K. were brought from Mosul to the Turkish capital Ankara on the night of Oct. 18, daily Vatan reported on Oct. 20. They were accompanied by staff from the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad during their flight, the newspaper said.

The two siblings were reportedly handed over to the Family and Social Policies Ministry. The children will go through a rehabilitation process under the supervision of pedagogues and psychologists as they have been exposed to prison conditions for a long period of time. The children will then be handed over to their father Yılmaz K., who lives in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ.

The children’s story came to light on Oct. 15 when daily Vatan reported the news. Fatma abducted Umut K. and Nisa K. four years ago and fled from their home in Turkey. It was later discovered she had taken their two children to Syria where she became an ISIL fighter. When she lost their life in 2016, the children were handed over to the Iraqi family and eventually jailed in Baghdad’s Rusafa prison with the codes of “Baghdad 363” and “Baghdad 364.”

Yılmaz K., their father, heard the news of his children being brought to Turkey.

“Our prayers have been answered. I have received the best gift of my life today. I am so happy that I cannot even describe it in words. I could not see my children for four years,” he said.

“I will do my best to have my children forget the difficulties they went through and for them to have a good life and to become good people,” he added.

There are about 450 Turkish children in Iraqi orphanages or in jail in the Rusafa prison in Baghdad after being abducted by their ISIL member parents, according to daily Vatan.