After the trial of Eylem Tok and her son in the US, the Aci family spoke for the first time: ‘We will follow up, I will not give up’

Eylem Tok and her 17-year-old son T.C., who fled abroad after causing the death of Oğuz Murat Aci in a car accident in Eyüpsultan, appeared before a judge for the first time after being caught in the USA. Following the trial, the grieving father Özer Aci said, ‘From now on, some will be tried there, some will be tried here, this is a beginning, a first step. We will follow up, I will not give up, I will not back down.’
Eylem Tok and her 17-year-old son T.C., allegedly caused the death of Oğuz Murat Aci (29) by hitting the individuals who were pulling their broken ATVs to the side of the road with the luxury car they were driving in Kemerburgaz on March 1, 2024. They were taken to Egypt and then to the USA by his mother Eylem Tok. Approximately 3.5 months after the incident, the mother and son, who were put on the red notice list, were caught in the USA. Yesterday, during the hearing in the USA, separate decisions were made to continue their detention and their trials were postponed to June 20. After the trial, the parents of the deceased Oğuz Murat Aci, Pervin Aci and Özer Aci, spoke for the first time.
‘Eylem Tok is very cunning’
The grieving mother of Murat Aci, Pervin Aci, stated that Eylem Tok enrolled her son T.C. in school in the USA, saying, ‘She enrolls her child in school, tries to settle there. Since I will manage until the age of 21-22 here anyway. Why should the child be enrolled in school in Boston? The child is already a US citizen, Eylem Tok is very cunning. When that child enters school, where will his mind be? It will be like my son.’
‘Even in America, Turks were there for me, they traveled for hours’
The mother Pervin Aci, who could not kiss her son’s hand on the holiday, said, ‘I could not be happy on the holiday, I was always sad, it was all about crying, but my entire hand was kissed by all of Turkey, my holiday was celebrated by the whole world, I was very pleased with that. I thank everyone very much. First of all, I thank our Minister of Justice, our President, Mr. Kürşat, and all the mentioned Ministers. I understood very well yesterday that even in America, Turks were there for me, they traveled for hours, I thank them all. Eylem Tok has no one but her lawyer. She should be upset already, all of Turkey is with me.’
‘She viciously snatched the phones, did not call the ambulance, did not help the injured, everyone and the public know that my son died for this reason’
The grieving father Özer Aci stated that he had a disagreement with Eylem Tok’s lawyer, but according to the US system, he cannot change his lawyer, saying, ‘He can change his lawyer, it doesn’t matter. In the end, a criminal is a criminal. Everyone and the public know that she viciously snatched the phones, did not call the ambulance, did not help the injured, and my son died for this reason. Eventually, we will somehow explain this to American justice. They will understand where she went wrong, why she is being tried. Later, they will most likely be extradited, I think.’
‘The success of the red notice is the result of my state, my nation, and also my efforts’
Father Özer Aci stated that the conditions in children’s prisons in the USA are not good, and he wanted them to be moved to a better place, but they knew that it was rejected by the judge, saying, ‘I was not alone, I was not alone in the case, but there were people representing me. This situation comforted our hearts days later. We were pleased that the detention continued. These are just the beginning, they will see what they will go through. I am not alone, I endured. Besides enduring, I worked, I made efforts. I researched ‘what can I do about my case?’ I tried every way to reach my goals. Of course, my state is with me. The success of the red notice after 3.5 months is the result of my state, my nation, and also my efforts. It is the pressure of the public, otherwise, looking back, the success of the red notice in such a short time did not seem possible. Our state really stood by us, our Minister of Justice has always been by our side. We met again yesterday, they were kind enough to follow the case when they were available, they said they were closely interested and I should not worry, they wished me a happy holiday. They responded no matter what the situation was. At least we felt that they shared our pain. I knew that they would continue to make us feel that way.’
‘We will follow up, I will not give up’
Father Aci, who never said ‘I will attribute it to the public anyway’ and did not sit idly by, said, ‘I worked, when free time came, I cried, I made efforts. I discussed with my wife one by one what I could do. ‘Who can we call, what can we say, will they pick up the phone, will they respond or not?’ But when you want, it happens. We have achieved our goal to some extent. From now on, some will be tried there, some will come here for trial, this is a beginning, a first step. We will follow up, I will not give up, I will not back down.’
‘Even if I die, this case will be followed by someone’
Father Aci, stating that Eylem Tok made a great effort for them to give up, said, ‘Although these three and a half months seemed very long to us, it is a very short time. Even if I die, this case will be followed by someone. I truly believed. Because hundreds of people came to follow my case in yesterday’s trial. She was in those orange-red dresses, looked around, tried to see if she knew someone or not, but when faced with thousands of people trying to look at her with malice and hatred, she was shocked, this is the first shock. I will cause a lot of shock.’
‘The child was like a baby lamb, never left his side, but today is the fourth day, they are alone’
Father Özer Aci, stating that Eylem Tok’s son T.C. was like a baby lamb, never leaving his side, said, ‘The child was like a baby lamb, never left his side, but today is the fourth day, they are alone. Let’s see how many more days they will be alone, then I will say. He will learn how much harm he did to his child one day, but it will be too late.’