Criminal complaint filed against singer Gökhan Türkmen: It has reached an unacceptable point

Three-year-old Elif Perincek, who was rescued 65 hours after the collapse of the Doğanlar Apartment building in the 6.6-magnitude earthquake centered in Seferihisar on October 30, 2020, and who gave hope to many by holding onto a firefighter's finger, is trying to put the difficult days behind her with her mother Seher and twin sisters Ezel and Elzem, who also survived the earthquake.

The family, who lost their 7-year-old son Umut Perincek in the earthquake, has established the "Hope for Hearts Foundation" (YUVA), through which they have provided libraries, laboratories, nurseries, and preschool classrooms to numerous schools across the country, created tree nurseries, and carried out various social responsibility projects.

Concerned that their daughter is constantly associated with the earthquake in her social circle and that this negatively impacts her life, the family remains cautious about the use of images of their daughter, even when done with good intentions. 

"WE ARE ACTING WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT ELİF"

Most recently, the family has taken action against singer Gökhan Türkmenregarding a song he created inspired by the story of their daughter's rescue, titled "Elif"They have initiated a legal battle against the use of their daughter's images and personal information in the promotions and concerts for an instrumental composition he titled "". In the complaint petition submitted to the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, artist Gökhan Türkmen was accused ofUnlawful dissemination of personal data and violation of the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Workscharges.

''I DO NOT WANT HER TO ENCOUNTER THESE IMAGES''

Father Oğuz and mother Seher Perinçek stated that while they believe in the healing power of art, the use of their daughter's images and information is harmful to her. Oğuz Perinçek expressed that they do not want their daughter to constantly encounter these images as she grows up.

''WE STATED THAT WE DO NOT ACCEPT IT''

Explaining that singer Gökhan Türkmen composed a piece inspired by their daughter's rescue, Perinçek said,It is a good and correct project. He was affected by the earthquake. We have infinite respect for the artist and for art. Everyone is affected; we are also affected by the earthquakes that occur, and we are saddened as well. A composition can be made; there is no problem with that. However, we do not really accept the use of my daughter's images and detailed information. Our child will grow up, she will see these, she will have friends, she will be offended, she will be upset. We think it should not be this way. For this reason, we applied to the prosecutor's office. We stated that we do not accept the images and that this is not right. As her mother and father, we are acting with the responsibility of protecting Elif." he said.

"REVENUE IS BEING GENERATED FROM THIS"

Stating that the song was released in March and that they did not foresee that the images used in the promotion would spread this widely, Perinçek said, "But we see that revenue is being generated from this, and this revenue is being used elsewhere. This has now reached an unacceptable point. It is natural for an artist to be affected by events, but we have started to become uncomfortable with the repetition. We were patient to a certain extent and expected it to remain at a certain level, but that did not happen." he said.

Stating that no one had requested permission from them or informed them regarding the images, Perinçek alleged that they had received no response to their request for the removal of the visuals and information belonging to their daughter. Expressing that they had no intention of punishing anyone, Perinçek continued his words as follows:

"We would have liked to be able to do something together. Perhaps we could have acted together in certain organizations in a way that would highlight the foundation. This was our expectation, but it did not happen. Our expectation is that these reports be recalled if necessary so as not to harm Elif, and perhaps to carry out projects that would also honor Elif. We have no other expectations beyond this. We always say that art is good for all of us. I also listen to music all the time, our radio is always on. Our goal is actually to continue to stand on the side of art."

The artist's manager, Sinem Türkmen, stated that there was no criminal complaint or document that had reached them, and at this stage stated that they would not be making a statement.