Families to leave Diyarbakır after names of youth involved in crime revealed

ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

A number of families of 872 students have decided to leave the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, after the names and personal details of their children were controversially released by a district education office, daily Zaman reported on Jan. 16.

Diyarbakır police reportedly delivered the 25-page list of minors, made up of youths involved in crime or subjected to sexual harassment, including their addresses, identity information and names of their parents, to the Bağlar Education Directorate in an effort to gather information about their education.

However, the office later shared the list on its website, revealing the protected information to the public.

The families, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed their concerns after the children’s names were revealed, accusing the authorities of deliberately exposing the list.

Along with the officials from the Education Ministry, Diyarbakır Police Department head Halis Böğürcü and Child Branch head Şenol Toklu were primarily responsible for keeping a record of the children, the families said, demanding that they be suspended from duty. They said they would also file official complaints against the police officers.

“We have been experiencing a huge trauma. We gathered with a few families and discussed what to do. God forbid, suicide incidents could occur because the crimes that were said to be committed by our children and the crimes they faced should have been kept a secret. We knew [what happened] but others did not. Now everybody at school, in our neighborhood, knows,” a family member was quoted as saying.

Some of the families are planning to leave the city while some have already sent their children to their relatives who live in other cities.

The list were published on the websites of both the Bağlar and Yenişehir offices, Doğan News Agency has reported, adding that three officials, including the office heads, were suspended from their duties.

The children were reportedly categorized in three lists, including 410 for whom a procedural act was launched, 416 who worked or were forced to work on the streets, and 46 who were subjected to sexual abuse.