Footage emerges of Russian mother who gave birth in airport toilet

On Sunday evening, October 13, a newborn baby was found inside a toilet by a cleaning worker in a disabled restroom at Antalya Airport. An investigation by police, who arrived following a report, determined that the baby had been abandoned 12 minutes before being discovered by 18-year-old Russian citizen Ekaterina Burnazkina. It was determined that Ekaterina Burnazkina, who abandoned the baby, had gone to the passport counters with her mother, Elena Burnazkina, to complete their departure procedures from the country. Ekaterina Burnazkina and her mother, who were preparing to travel to Moscow, were detained by teams from the Antalya Police Department's Airport Branch. The newborn baby was taken to the hospital after initial intervention by medical teams. The baby's mother, Ekaterina Burnazkina, was taken to another hospital for treatment.

THEY WERE ARRESTED

After their procedures at the police station, the grandmother, Elena Burnazkina, was arrested on Monday evening. Ekaterina Burnazkina, who gave a statement to the police after her treatment at the hospital, and her mother were arrested by the on-duty magistrate's office on charges of 'attempted intentional homicide'.

Ayşegül Kübra Polat, registered with the Antalya Bar Association, took on the role of volunteer attorney for the mother and daughter, and met with the young girl and her mother in prison through an interpreter.

REVEALED TO BE 18 YEARS OLD

Stating that what happened was truly distressing, attorney Ayşegül Kübra Polat said, “I wish this incident had not happened. We are all saddened by this event. First of all, I would like to correct the misinformation in the media. Although my client was written about in the press as if she were 28 years old, she was actually born in June 2006 and turned 18 only 4 months ago. She is a high school student.”

Adding that another inaccuracy was the rumors that the young girl had come to Antalya, Turkey, from Russia with the baby's father specifically to get rid of the baby, Polat said, “Such an event is absolutely not true. My client came to Alanya for a 10-day vacation with her mother, just as they do every year,” she said.

“SHE DID NOT KNOW SHE WAS PREGNANT”

Pointing out that what happened was an extraordinary and unexpected situation, attorney Kübra Polat continued her speech as follows:

“Because my client did not know she was pregnant until the moment she gave birth, and she did not fully understand what was happening while she was giving birth. Although this sounds impossible, there is a medical term for this. It is called cryptic pregnancy. In such pregnancies, it has been determined that some women do not realize it until the 4th or 5th month, and some do not realize it until the moment of birth. There are many such cases in the world. Such an event is possible. In such pregnancies, there are no pregnancy symptoms. My client is a rather overweight young girl and she did not detect any different situation in her body due to hormonal disorders she has had for a long time. In fact, 4-5 days before the day of the incident, they went to a private hospital in Alanya thinking she had a digestive system problem. She was treated there, given medication, and sent home. In other words, there was no detected situation such as pregnancy.”

“THINKING SHE HAD A DIGESTIVE PROBLEM, SHE WENT IN AND OUT OF THE TOILET 5-6 TIMES”

Defending that there was absolutely no intentional situation of abandoning the baby or getting rid of the baby, Polat concluded her speech: “On the day of the incident, they came to the airport with her mother to go to Russia. The girl had severe abdominal pain and, thinking she had a digestive system problem again, she went in and out of the toilet 5-6 times. She was trying to use the toilet. Then this incident occurred. She left the scene without knowing what to do, in the shock of what she had experienced. The shock she experienced at that moment is, as you can appreciate, a situation that cannot be described in words. Because you go to the toilet to relieve yourself and suddenly a baby is born. At that moment, the girl's mother was waiting at the door of the toilet. The mother called out, ‘What is taking you so long?’, ‘It's time for the flight, we will be late.’ She did not say anything to her mother when she came out of the toilet. In fact, she couldn't. Because her mother is a heart patient. At that moment, she just wanted to get away from there. Later, the cleaning staff found the baby and this situation came to light. I met with the mother and daughter in prison. The mother and daughter still have not fully overcome the shock of the incident. They are very sad about what happened. All they want now is to be able to go back to their families in Russia in a healthy way with their baby. They want the baby now. Thank God the baby girl is also healthy. Honestly, the most important thing right now is that the child is healthy. I have seen the comments made on social media about the incident. Of course, when you look at the way the incident is reflected to the public, those who comment are right in their own way. But the inside story of the incident is completely different. I have a request. Please, let's be careful about these issues when commenting. Because the family has been victimized by this situation. Please do not forget that there is a young girl who did not even realize she had given birth, rather than someone trying to get rid of a baby.”

FOOTAGE AT THE AIRPORT HAS EMERGED

Meanwhile, those moments the young girl and her mother experienced at Antalya Airport, which entered the case file, were reflected on security cameras. In the footage, the young girl, who arrived at the airport with her mother by a tour operator's minibus, is seen with a suitcase in her hand, and her mother is seen with bags in her hands. The young girl, who appears quite calm, walks around the corridor for a while after handing over the items for check-in. In the footage, it is also captured on camera that she holds her waist with both hands at one point. Then, it is seen that the young girl enters the disabled toilet, her mother waits at the door, and then her daughter, who comes out of the toilet, walks away holding her hand. In the continuation of the footage, it is captured on camera that the young girl and her mother are detained at the police checkpoint and taken to the police station.

News Source: 12punto