Five children left alone while their mother is in detention: CHP deputy Tanal

ISTANBUL

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Mahmut Tanal has said a woman who went to visit her jailed husband at Sincan Prison in Ankara has been detained by police while five of her children were beside her.  

Tanal, who is also a member of Turkey’s Human Rights Commission, said he has met with officials from Sincan police station and stressed that the woman’s children should be with her while she is under police surveillance. 

“Leaving these children alone like this is not suitable either for the convention on the rights of children or legal provisions. We will monitor this case. The necessary steps should be taken immediately to prevent the victimization of these children,” he said in a written statement after watching a video of the incident.

“Our most significant priority is the running of the law. But leaving five children alone, especially when one of them is ill, due to the detention of their mother, is utterly inconceivable according to conscience and the law. The images show a humanitarian plight,” Tanal added.