Russian Embassy in Turkey Confirms Russian Girl Released to Father's Custody

The Turkish authorities transferred a 6-year-old Russian girl, who was detained in Turkey along with her mother, stepfather and 18-month-old sister as they were attempting to enter Syria, to his father, according to the Russian Embassy in Turkey.

ANKARA (Sputnik) – A 6-year-old Russian girl, who was detained in Turkey along with her mother, stepfather and 18-month-old sister as they were attempting to enter Syria, was released on Monday and already with her father, the Russian Embassy in Turkey told Sputnik Monday.

The family was detained earlier in July and accused of attempting to illegally cross the Turkish-Syrian border to join extremist groups. The girl’s father asked Russia’s Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov to lend his assistance in releasing the children. Earlier in the day, Kadyrov said that an agreement on the girl's release had been reached and that she was already in her father's custody.

“According to the information obtained from the relatives of Elizaveta Ukhanova, the Turkish authorities transferred her today to the father, Sergey Ukhanov. In the near future they will leave for Russia. The embassy continues to control the situation around Evgeny Kochaari [stepfather of the released girl], Svetlana Ukhanova [her mother] and Amina Kochaari [her sister], who remain in the deportation center in the province of Hatay,” Russian embassy spokeswoman Irina Kasimova said.

Kasimova added that the issue had been raised during contacts at various levels, including today’s meeting between new Russian Ambassador to Turkey Aleksey Yerkhov and Turkish Foreign Ministry’s officials. Moscow also continues to demand that those detained be provided with consular access, the spokeswoman concluded.