The Ministry of Family Affairs was unaware of the investigation!

Following the death of 35-year-old autistic Abdülkerim Musti, who allegedly fell ill due to poor care and poor conditions at an autism center in Sakarya Arifiye, an investigation was launched against him following the institution's director's criminal complaint. Lawyer Sedef Erken, the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Istanbul Autism Volunteers Association, stated that she was contacted by the Ministry of Family and Social Services and told that they were unaware of the criminal complaint and that they had dismissed the institution's official.

Erken said in a statement, "I just received a call from the ministry on behalf of Mahinur Özdemir. She stated that neither she nor any other authorized administrator was aware of the criminal complaint, that she had dismissed this person as of today, and that she was sorry about the matter. I thank her for her swift intervention and correct approach. I reiterate that we will always support competent administrators in the care of our autistic children and efforts to prioritize the 'rights-based care system.'"

WHAT HAPPENED?

The death of Abdülkerim Musti sparked outrage. Following the incident, which BirGün newspaper highlighted, autism associations and families gathered in front of the institution on May 13th to protest the incident, demanding that policies protecting the right to life of individuals with disabilities be implemented immediately.

Following this, Sedef Erken stated yesterday that she had received a notification from the prosecutor's office, that a criminal complaint had been filed by the institution, and that she would testify. She reacted by saying, "Because I was the person who organized the press release, I was charged with publicly insulting state institutions, insulting through the press, publicly disseminating false information, publicly disseminating false information, resisting to prevent a duty, slander, and resisting to avoid performing my duty. I won't say, 'Aren't you ashamed to do this to the mother of an autistic child?' If you had any shame, you would have resigned when a child died there. Everything is expected from people like you."