29.10.2026 14:49
In Bursa’s Mustafakemalpaşa district, the trial of 60-year-old Hanife Taşdemir Stief, who is accused of keeping her 8-year-old granddaughter Nazar S., allegedly abducted by her son, in a ruined house for 7 years, continued. Taşdemir Stief, who faces up to 12 years in prison for “human trafficking” and “deprivation of liberty,” fell ill in the prison where she was connected to the hearing via SEGBİS and was taken to the infirmary. The court decided to continue the detention of the defendant grandmother.
The trial concerning the child who disappeared in Mustafakemalpaşa at the age of 1 and was rescued in an operation 7 years later continues with the grandmother’s defense. Taşdemir Stief, who does not accept the accusations, argued that after her son’s death she looked after her grandson as “her son’s trust.”
THEY CAME FROM GERMANY TO TURKEY
According to the investigation file, Umut K. (33), born to a Turkish mother and a German father, began living with Rebecca S. (30), whom he met in Germany, where he was born and raised. The couple’s son, Nazar, was born in 2018. One year later, Umut K. came to Mustafakemalpaşa with his girlfriend and son to visit his mother, Hanife Taşdemir Stief, who had separated from his father and remarried.
Allegedly, Umut K., who did not return to his country because there was an arrest warrant for him in Germany on a “drug trafficking” charge, did not allow his girlfriend to return with their son either. It was claimed that Umut K. told Rebecca S., who did not want to stay in Turkey, that her son had disappeared, and that he abducted the child. Rebecca S. went to the police and filed a complaint; an investigation into the incident was launched as she returned to Germany.
FOUND IN A RUINED HOUSE AFTER 7 YEARS
Umut K. died two years ago as a result of a heart attack. The Mustafakemalpaşa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation to find the missing child. Within the scope of the investigation conducted by Chief Prosecutor Yusuf Canik, a special six-person team was formed upon the instruction of Bursa Provincial Police Chief Kadir Gökce. The team, composed of the Robbery, Homicide and Missing Persons bureau chiefs under the Public Order Branch Directorate, conducted technical and physical surveillance for 30 days and reviewed 300 hours of camera footage.
The team found the child, whose trace had not been found for 7 years, in a ruined house where she was allegedly held by his grandmother. The child was rescued in an operation carried out on March 10. Grandmother Hanife Taşdemir Stief and Recai M., the owner of the house and the son of Umut K.’s aunt, were detained and arrested. Recai M. was released pending trial without detention following an objection.
THE CHILD WAS HANDED OVER TO HIS MOTHER
The child, taken under protection by the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services, was handed over to Rebecca S., who was confirmed by DNA test to be his mother. It was learned that the child continues his life in Germany with his mother and sister.
The trial of detained defendant Hanife Taşdemir Stief and the non-detained defendants Mustafa T., Ayşe T., Hanife T., Recai M. and Gülşen A., who are her brother and relatives, began on July 24, with a request for up to 12 years’ imprisonment each on the charge of “human trafficking against persons under 18 years of age.”
“I DID NOT SEE MY GRANDSON UNTIL THE DAY MY SON DIED”
Hanife Taşdemir Stief, who joined the hearing at the Mustafakemalpaşa 1st Heavy Penal Court from prison via the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS), described the day of the incident in her defense. Stief said that her son had come from Germany to Mustafakemalpaşa with Rebecca S. and her grandson, that they stayed for 1 month, and that the couple had got along well until the last days; she continued as follows:
“With two days left, Rebecca received a phone call. Thereupon she said she would take the child and leave. I gave Umut money and told them to have dinner together and talk and come to an understanding. When Rebecca and Umut went to dinner, Nazar was sleeping beside me. Umut called me and said that Rebecca’s acquaintances could come and take Nazar, and told me to hide the child.”
Then Stief recounted that she, her son and her brother set out to talk to Rebecca S., and claimed that her son, with whom she argued on the way, stopped the vehicle and got out with the child. Stief said, “After that day I saw neither my son nor Nazar. Not until the day my son died.”
“HE TOOK A SHOWER, LAY DOWN, AND NEVER GOT UP AGAIN”
Stief claimed that her son later sent word to her through his aunt and friends and asked for money, and recounted that she sent 50,000 lira to her son, whom she learned was in Adana one month after the February 6 earthquakes, and rented a house for him in Gemlik. Stief said, “One or two days later he came with my grandson. We sat, caught up on our longing, and chatted. He said he had the flu and wanted to take a shower and lie down. I saw that after taking a shower he lay down and never got up again.”
Stief, who said she took it upon herself to look after her grandson after her son’s death, said, “For this reason I did not call Rebecca and inform her. (...) As a mother and a grandmother, I tried to look after him as my son’s trust without informing Rebecca. I may have made wrong decisions because of my son’s loss.”
SHE ADDRESSED HIM AS “AHMET” IN THE STREET
Stief explained that she addressed her grandson by a different name outside, saying, “My son Umut used to address Nazar as ‘Ahmet’ because his name was confused with a girl’s name. I also used to say ‘Ahmet Nazar.’ But my grandson knows that his own name is ‘Nazar.’ I taught him how to speak when he had to talk to others. In the street I addressed him as ‘Ahmet.’”
Stief stated that her grandson sometimes asked about his mother, and said, “I would also show him pictures and videos of his mother on the phone. I used to tell Nazar that he would eventually be handed over to his mother, that there had been an argument between his mother and father, but that in the end he would be reunited with his mother.”
“I DO NOT ACCEPT THE ACCUSATIONS”
Stief, who argued that her relatives on trial in the case were innocent, claimed that she did not know the other defendants were with her grandson. Stief said, “I did not do what I did as a crime. I did whatever I needed to do in good conscience. I may have made wrong decisions. (...) I protected Nazar from everything. If my daughter-in-law had spoken to me in a conciliatory way rather than with insults, this would not have happened. I do not accept the accusations.”
SHE WAS TAKEN TO THE INFIRMARY BEFORE SHE COULD GIVE A STATEMENT
At the hearing, detained defendant Stief said she had become unwell before giving a statement, saying, “I am not well. I feel bad.” Stief, who was taken out of the room by execution protection officers, was taken to the infirmary and placed under treatment.
“SHE CANNOT BE TRIED FOR THE SAME CRIME”
Stief’s lawyer, Enes Çetin, stated that his client had previously been sentenced to 8 years in prison on the allegation of abducting her grandson and that the case file was before the Court of Cassation, and argued that his client could not be tried for the same crime.
Çetin said, “Moreover, he did not commit such a crime either. I request his acquittal and release.”
The court decided to take the statement of the German mother and to continue the defendant's detention, and adjourned the hearing.
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