Turkish man indicted for kidnapping Israeli daughter
Akbulut Gyokan is refusing to return his 4-year-old to her mother in Israel after domestic dispute
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The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Monday indicted a Turkish man for kidnapping his 4-year-old Israeli daughter and attempting to extort her mother.
According to the indictment, Akbulut Gyokan last month took his daughter to visit his family in Turkey, and has since refused to return her to Israel.
The court said Gyokan kidnapped his daughter after the girl’s mother broke up with him.
On April 25, Gyokan told his ex-girlfriend he was taking their daughter on a trip to visit his parents in Turkey, and would return to Israel in several days.
After he arrived in Turkey, Gyokan called his former partner accusing her of infidelity, telling her he refused to break up. Gyokan told her their daughter would remain in Turkey, and that if she ever wanted to see her again, she would have to move there.
The court said Gyokan threatened to “disappear” their daughter if she protested the new arrangement.
The girl’s mother reported her daughter missing to Israeli police, who arrested Gyokan at Ben-Gurion International Airport when he arrived in Israel alone last week.
The prosecution requested the court extend Gyokan’s remand until the legal proceedings against him have been completed.
At a remand hearing last Wednesday, Gyokan’s attorney told the court his client made the threats against his ex-girlfriend in the heat of an argument, and he was prepared to return his daughter to her mother in Israel.
The couple’s daughter remains in Turkey.
The Times of Israel Community.