Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency:  Newsflash

A cruel mum has been jailed for 20 years for torturing her toddler, including cutting her with razor blades and injecting bleach into her veins.

Ezgi Korucu, age not reported, tortured her 18-month-old daughter Eylul Mira at their home in the district of Avcilar in the north-western Turkish city of Istanbul.

She was arrested after her last trip to hospital with the sick youngster on 9th February 2019 when doctors finally realised the child was being abused.

Ezgi, who was detained and released twice before, said she realised that this time would be the last and therefore confessed to the abuse, according to reports.

She was questioned by prosecutors and was quoted in local media as saying: “I could not love my daughter and I wanted her to die, slowly. So I decided to torture her. I tormented her with razor cuts on her head, legs, arms, chest, and eyelids.

“I injected liquid soap and bleach into her veins using a syringe. This started when my daughter was one month old.

“There was an investigation against me, but I denied the allegations. I carried out the torture when my family was asleep or not around to see it.”

The defendant wrote letters to her family from prison. In one note to her daughter she said: “I apologise to you and your siblings. Eylul, please forgive me. I am not a bad mother.”

She also wrote to her children’s father Eray Korucu, saying: “Thank you very much for not shaming me in front of my children. We managed 13 years together somehow, one way or another.”

During the trial at Bakirkoy 8th High Criminal Court in Istanbul, the father shouted at the defence lawyer: “Do you have a child? My daughter’s body was shattered. She cannot use her left hand.”

Court documents said the defendant and her husband have since divorced and she changed her surname to Karacali.

The defendant was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

It is unclear if she plans to appeal the decision.