Turkey
Fatma Aslan holds sonogram of her baby in Diyarbakir, Turkey on August 29, 2025. Photo: Rudaw
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey - A Kurdish couple from Turkey’s southeastern province of Diyarbakir (Amed in Kurdish) was told in 2008 that their newborn baby had died just days after birth. However, the parents never believed the account. Seventeen years later, a DNA test confirmed that the baby was not biologically theirs. The family now suspects that their child may have been taken by criminal gangs or sold to a wealthy family.
Fatma and Ercan Aslan are from Diyarbakir’s Bismil district. Fatma gave birth to a baby in 2008 but 17 days after receiving treatment at a hospital she was told by authorities that her baby had passed away. The couple never believed the official account and decided to find the truth. After many years of a legal battle, a court finally ordered the baby’s grave to be opened for DNA testing. The results were shocking: the remains did not belong to their child.
“I can't describe what I felt when the DNA results came. I was both relieved and a new anxiety formed within me. We still don't know where our son is. But now I know he's alive and well, and that comforts me,” the Kurdish mother told Rudaw on Friday.
“I never believed my son had died. I always had a feeling inside me, my heart told me he was alive. I lived with this belief for 17 years. When the grave was opened and the DNA results came out, when I learned the truth, I experienced an indescribable joy. My intuition wasn't in vain - I'm now certain my son is alive. Now I'm at peace," she added.
The father said their baby never had the chance to taste his mother’s milk.
"During the 17 days after birth, we never saw our son. He was never given his mother's milk, he wasn't even brought near us. We never understood why this was kept from us. There was always a question mark in our minds. We think the child was either sold to a wealthy family or kidnapped somehow. These thoughts wore us down for years,” he noted.
The family's lawyer, Zeki Oran, emphasized that the incident was not an isolated error.
"Similar cases have occurred before in Diyarbakir. The family is especially anxious after child trafficking rings were exposed. Whoever is responsible - whether doctor, nurse, or hospital employee - must be thoroughly investigated,” he said.
Fatma has only the sonogram taken during her son's birth. Keeping the image with tears, the mother shared her feelings.
"This image is our only evidence that my son is alive. Seventeen years have passed but we never saw him. I find comfort looking at his image, but I want to hold him in my arms, to live with him. My only wish is to find my son and be reunited with him."
The lawyer called on the authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation “not just for the families' but for society's security, suspicions of child trafficking and similar issues must be pursued with determination."
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