A grieving mother confronted medics at a hospital in Turkey following the death of her 16-year-old daughter while in their care.
Russian teenager Sofiya Lanshakova fell ill while on a family holiday in the Turkish province of Antalya and was diagnosed with acute appendicitis. However, after she died while in terrible pain, her parents are now convinced that she was murdered, with her womb removed and organs harvested and sold on the black market.
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Her father, Vyacheslav Lanshakov, had previously told Russian television channel TVK6: "We have a suspicion that it was for organ transplantation." Now images show that the girl's mother Tatiana Lanshakova was detained by police as she remonstrated with workers at the medical facility.
The CCTV images show the woman waiting at the desk of the hospital in Yaşam Hastanesi, where her daughter died, before approaching hospital staff.
Having reportedly been held for 12 hours by police, she told local news: "I could never think that I would stand at my daughter's grave," adding: "Exhumation - we are ready to go to the end, however painful. We need the truth."
The exact nature of that truth remains a mystery, with neither side backing down. It's been reported that Russian authorities' findings on inspecting the body matched up with the claims that the deceased's organs were missing, although a full forensic report is not expected until next month.
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Alexey Erkhov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, said: "We deeply sympathise with the grief of the mother who lost her daughter. Russian diplomats will continue to assist in resolving this issue."
For the hospital's part, a representative has said that "We did not take any organs. It was [done by] police at the autopsy."
Sofiya Lanshakova was taken to a number of private hospitals before her death and a representative from the Siedra clinic - where she was first taken - blamed her mother for the tragedy.
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Asya Batcheva, a representative of Siedra clinic, said: "I believe that the mother is to blame - she did not sound alarm on the first or second day (when the girl felt abdominal pains)."
They added: "What proof do they have that something was done wrong? Or some organs taken? If something was missing, any crimes committed against that girl, I think that the criminal case would be initiated."
Featured Image Credit: East2West NewsTopics: World News