Sümeyye Erdoğan said, "Our essential aim is to get these monsters [the driver who allegedly raped and killed Aslan and the two men who helped burn her body] punished in the most serious and effect way. We will be after this."
Özgecan Aslan, who was a psychology student at Çağ University in the southern province of Mersin, was burnt after she was allegedly raped and heinously murdered by the driver of a bus she had boarded to go home. Aslan's murder has caused uproar across the country, with politicians and various organizations protesting the incident and raising awareness about the issue of femicide in Turkey.
Erdoğan and his family were among those who paid their condolences to Özgecan Aslan's family. The president and his wife Emine Erdoğan called Aslan's family on Saturday, offering their condolences as well as condemning the horrible incident, while Erdoğan's two daughters paid a visit to the family's house in Mersin.
Özgecan's mother, Songül Aslan, told Erdoğan's daughters: "I want these men [murder suspect] to receive punishment in the strongest way ever."
She said, "My daughter's only fault was to take the bus and come home," to which Sümeyye Erdoğan said, "We will always be with you."
The president of the non-governmental organization 'Women and Democracy Association' (KADEM) was among the people who visited Aslan's family together with Erdoğan's daughters. The president, Sare Yılmaz, said that their organization will follow up the incident with all their resources.
Yılmaz told Songül Aslan, "As women, non-governmental organizations, the government, society, we all live your pain deep in our hearts."