Support TIME. Preserve the truth.
World

They registered him as dead in the earthquake, now he is sick and can't even go to the hospital

34-year-old Nejat Ozcelik, who lives in Istanbul, has learned that he has been registered as dead due to the similarity of his first and last name with his relative, Necat Ozcelik, who died on February 9 as a result of the earthquake in Turkey.

He was told he was listed as deceased in the population registers during a traffic check. Ozcelik was shocked by this information and went to the police station to clarify it.

Nejat Ozcelik's identity was confirmed through fingerprints at the police. Turned out to be a registry error due to the similarity of the names.

When Ozcelik tried to view his bank account, he faced access barriers. The data was not accepted even though it had already been declared that he was alive.

He has been told he must file a complaint. Being in this situation for 11 days since Necat's death, Nejat wants this problem to be fixed and to continue his life.

"I went to the Directorate for Population Registration and filed a complaint. I sent the documents proving that I am alive. But it was not resolved. I'm sick, but I can't go to the hospital. I can't make transactions because I don't have access to the bank. I am a victim because I am dead everywhere I go. I want this to be resolved as soon as possible," he said, CNNTurk reported.