It did not allow a child with Down syndrome to the playground: 2nd penalty for the business

Retired petty officer Feridun Baltacı filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor's office on charges of discrimination on the grounds that his daughter Melek Baltacı, who has Down syndrome, was not allowed into the children's playground in the shopping mall. In his criminal complaint petition, Baltacı claimed that his daughter was not allowed into the playground by the playground staff, saying 'We do not accept special children'.

A lawsuit was filed against the responsible manager of the business, Ali M., at the Ankara West 10th Criminal Court of First Instance regarding the incident that took place on January 10 last year. At the end of the trial, Ali M. was sentenced to 10 months in prison for 'discrimination between individuals' and it was decided to postpone the announcement of the verdict.

FINE FROM TİHEK

Baba Baltacı then filed a complaint with TİHEK. The company's attorney, who presented a defense within the scope of TİHEK's investigation, claimed that there was no information, document or evidence supporting the allegations of discrimination. The company representative stated that the fact that the application was made approximately 1 year after the incident raised questions about the reality of the allegations, and argued that the company and its employees did not have a negative attitude towards children with special needs.

TİHEK imposed a fine of 256 thousand 357 TL on the business for violating the prohibition of discrimination. TİHEK had previously imposed an administrative fine of 204 thousand 285 TL on the same business for the same violation after a similar incident.

"IT CAUSED MAJOR TRAUMA"

Feridun Baltacı said that they filed a lawsuit immediately after the incident and said, "The court decided in our favor. Then we applied to TİHEK. TİHEK accepted our rightness. And in this way, our rightness was accepted by the courts and institutions. This made us extremely happy. This practice created a great trauma for us. As a father, I had a hard time accepting this. It is very difficult to describe in words the pain and distress I experienced that day. God willing." "You take your child to a playground to make him/her happy and have fun. And they tell you, 'Your child has Down syndrome, he/she cannot enter here.' I think it's the biggest pain a father can experience. But I want these decisions to be applied to all levels of society, sites and parks," he said.

"THE CHILD'S FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO PLAY"

Turkish Down Syndrome Association Board Member and Lawyer Cansu Korkmaz said, "Turkish Human Rights and Equality Institution stated that the necessary regulations were not made and that the child was not allowed into that playground as direct discrimination and decided that the prohibition of discrimination was violated. This decision is really valuable. Because play is actually another fundamental right and freedom of the child and one of the fundamental rights and freedoms that is very important for the child's development. Therefore, we advocate that when families encounter such cases of discrimination, they should seek their rights by using legal methods, petitioning and making applications. "We want it," he said.