Brutally murdered Özgecan Aslan’s father to receive Turkey’s Religious Affairs award

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

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The father of brutally slain university student Özgecan Aslan will be among the recipients of the Turkish Religious Affairs Foundation’s International Goodness Award, Religious Affairs Head Mehmet Görmez has said.

Speaking at a press conference on March 11, Görmez said he could not forget the words of Aslan’s father, Mehmet Aslan, who demanded justice for the perpetrators who killed his daughter but maintained a peaceful attitude.

“Özgecan lost her life in an inhumane way. Of course she left big lessons for the whole of humanity as she bid farewell to this world. But at the same time, Mehmet Aslan showed us how a father could make kindness rule even in the hardest times with his words. He gave a wise lesson,” he said.

Özgecan Aslan’s burned body was discovered on Feb. 13 in a riverbed in the southern Turkish province of Mersin after she was brutally killed. The killing caused outrage across Turkey and prompted men and women to take to the streets to protest her murder and violence against women.

The Diyanet is set to hold an award ceremony on March 13 to honor six acts of kindness out of 500 nationwide. The International Goodness Awards will be distributed for the first time as a part of events to mark the 40th anniversary of the Diyanet’s foundation.

The other acts of goodness that will be awarded at the ceremony include a parent’s efforts to educate their three visually-impaired children by recording their syllabuses, a charity television program and a volunteer’s campaign to collect food for the poor.