Turkey’s Care Home Nightmare: 1 Minister Grilled Over Sex Assault, Torture Claims at Disabled Facility
Turkey's opposition has formally demanded answers from the Family Minister over a private care home in Batman where disabled residents were allegedly subjected to sexual assault, torture, and suspicious deaths.
A Turkish opposition lawmaker has submitted a formal parliamentary question to the Family and Social Services Minister regarding a private care center for disabled individuals in Batman. The inquiry, filed by DEM Party deputy Zeynep Oduncu Kutevi, alleges that residents of the Özel Batman Şifa Bakım Merkezi suffered sexual assault, torture, mistreatment, and suspicious deaths [176966]. The minister has not yet issued an official response, and the case has raised urgent questions about oversight at private care facilities for vulnerable people [176966].
Meanwhile, a separate case has sparked public outrage: a suspect accused of abusing a six-year-old child was released from jail and placed under house arrest. DEM Parti publicly questioned the justification for the release, warning that such decisions risk worsening abuse [176951]. A Turkish women’s and children’s rights group, EŞİK, also criticized the release of a suspect named Yusuf Ziya G., stating that the rights of children and women must not be traded based on religious sects, communities, or political connections [176952].
In a broader pattern, a Turkish lawmaker has accused authorities of failing to investigate suspicious deaths in prisons, stating that the necessary political will is not being shown to uncover conditions that drive inmates to their deaths [176965]. Additional reports detail that citizens have been subjected to humiliating strip searches, with authorities refusing to examine the accusations and labeling them as baseless [173536].