Mother of girl buried alive speaks of challenges faced while seeking justice

Medine Memi’s father, Ayhan Memi, and grandfather Fethi Memi were sentenced to life imprisonment last week for burying the 16-year-old alive in 2009 in the family’s backyard. Police reports suggested in 2010 that the girl was killed because her family felt she spent too much time “out and about.” Before she was killed, Medine Memi had reportedly sought help from the police, going to them several times to report abuse that she and her mother had suffered from.

Mother İmmihan Memecik, in an interview on Sunday with the Sabah daily, explained the challenges she has faced since the murder of her daughter. According to Memecik, her father-in-law, Fethi Memi, ruled the house with an iron fist. “The backyard fence of our home was like the walls of a fortress. We were not allowed to leave without permission. My husband, who is also a distant relative of mine, also obeyed his father’s orders.”

Memecik, who was kicked out of the house for testifying against her husband and father-in-law, said the family threatened to kill her if she did not give up her children. “I experienced everything [during the trial]. I begged, ‘Kill me if you want but don’t take my children’,” she said.

“My children saw me leave. They told them bad things about me,” said Memecik, who now lives alone in an unfurnished house in Kahta.

In light of last week’s court decision, Memecik said, “I only ask that these murderers are not granted amnesty by the state.”