Campaigning mother receives award

The Grimasons campaigned for changes in Turkish law

A mother whose two-year-old son was shot dead in Turkey has won a major award from a children's charity.

Ozlem Grimason's son Alistair was killed while in Foca in 2003 after an argument broke out in a cafe.

Mrs Grimason and her husband, David, of East Kilbride, campaigned for a change in Turkish gun laws after his death.

The mother was handed the NCH Woman of Influence 2005 award for her part in their successful and high-profile campaign in her native country.

The Grimasons collected a 200,000-signature petition as part of their campaign and presented their case to the country's prime minister.

'Legal triumph'

Their work was instrumental in persuading the authorities to increase sentences for armed violence within the country.

Daimi Akyuz, a 32-year-old car salesman, was jailed for 36 years last summer after being found guilty of killing their son.

The award organisers described the guilty verdict, following an exhausting seven-month trial and a twice-delayed sentencing, as "a legal triumph in a land where such killings are often dismissed as accidental and are rarely punished".

Awards chair Tessa Hartmann said there was "no-one more deserving" of the award than Mrs Grimason.

Alistair was shot dead in a cafe in Foca, Turkey, in July 2003

She said: "Ozlem is a mother who, having faced tragedy, had the strength to campaign against gun laws and make a real difference in Turkey and around the world.

"She is not only a credit to her native Turkey, but to her adopted home of Scotland."

Mrs Grimason, who received the award at a ceremony in Glasgow on Saturday, said she was "surprised, but delighted" by the prize.

She said: "We were so angry we just wanted to do something. The support we have had from the public and media is incredible, especially after all this time as it has been two years now."

Now in its fifth year - in the 50th anniversary year of the NCH children's charity - the Woman of Influence awards have raised more than £230,000 for NCH projects across Scotland.

Previous winners have included former Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell, Scotland's lead cancer clinician Dr Anna Gregor, Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson and Solicitor General Elish Angiolini QC.