Child whose body was found with drugs at birth not granted custody to mother

D.T. was born in 2016 at Selcuk University Faculty of Medicine Hospital with drugs detected in his body. Until the age of 8, his grandmother Y.T. took care of him. Then, his mother D.S.T. took action to obtain custody of the child. In the case heard at the Konya 6th Family Court, D.S.T.'s lawyer argued that the custody of the now 9-year-old child should be given to the mother and father if possible, or only to the mother. The lawyer stated that the child considers his grandmother as his "mother" and that D.S.T. and her husband R.T. have overcome their troubled past and have not used drugs for two years. The lawyer also mentioned that the parents have tried to contact and see their daughter but were not allowed by the grandmother. Y.T.'s lawyer emphasized that his client has taken good care of D.T. so far and stated that the child was born as a drug addict due to the mother's drug addiction, which she is still undergoing treatment for. The local court decided to reject the lawsuit filed to transfer the custody of the child from the grandmother to the mother and father, and instead allowed the parents to see their child once every two weeks. The couple then appealed to the regional court. The Konya Regional Court upheld the decision of the lower court, stating that D.T. had been living with his grandmother Y.T. since birth, and that the mother only visited the child once during this time, while the father, who never visited, had a criminal record. The Social Inquiry Report also indicated the necessity of the child continuing to be cared for by the grandmother, leading to the decision that the custody request should be rejected.