ISTANBUL, Dec 3: In Turkey, a 20-year-old woman named Ayşe Özkiraz has been arrested for posing as a doctor for an entire year despite only having recently graduated from high school. Facing a serious investigation, Özkiraz deceived her colleagues by claiming to specialize in pediatrics, gaining access to patients, and taking on medical responsibilities.

To secure a position at the state hospital in Çerkezköy, located approximately 68 miles from Istanbul, Özkiraz used fabricated documents suggesting she graduated from Istanbul University's Çapa Medical School, a claim later proven false. Despite suspicions arising among hospital staff regarding her credentials, it was when Özkiraz provided evasive or incorrect answers to basic medical questions that they alerted local law enforcement.

A subsequent search of Özkiraz's home uncovered a trove of incriminating evidence, including fake university ID cards, doctor's ID cards, diplomas, and various medical and surgical uniforms. Notably, she had deceived not only the hospital but also her own parents, falsely asserting that she was a qualified doctor.

In her statement, Özkiraz explained her motive, revealing that her family's expectations led her to fabricate acceptance into medical school. She created false documents to maintain the illusion for her family, who believed she was studying at the Capa Medical Faculty.

Despite Özkiraz's confession, her mother, Semra Arslan, vehemently insists on her innocence, pointing to Özkiraz's presence in photographs with hospital staff and her interactions in operating theaters as evidence. Arslan suggests that someone else might be involved and calls for further investigation into the matter. Özkiraz faces charges for "opposing the Law on the Practice of the Style of Medicine and Medical Sciences."