It has been 205 days since the suspicious death of 21-year-old Rojin Kabais, a first year student at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Department of Child Development. There are still many uncertainties in the investigation. 

 

On 27 September 2024, Rojin Kabais left the student dormitory where she was staying and went down to the lake shore of the university. From that moment on, she was not heard from again. Her belongings were found by visiting students on the beach the next day and they reported the situation to the dormitory management. However, about 15 hours after the incident, the family and the police were informed. Her lifeless body was found on 15 October by Mehmet Emin Ankay (60) in the rural Mollakasım neighbourhood. 

 

The investigation with a confidentiality order is ongoing. 

 

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

 

Although 205 days have passed since Rojin's disappearance and the discovery of her body on the beach, the smokescreen over her death has not yet been lifted. Although the autopsy report by the Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK) states that she died by drowning in water, the cause of drowning has not yet been clarified. While the question of whether the death occurred as a result of an external intervention awaits an answer like many other questions, the attempts to create the perception of "suicide" in the public opinion strengthen the suspicions about the case. 

 

The family rejects the "suicide" allegations about their child. One of the reasons for this is the question of how Rojin Kabais covered the 24-kilometre distance between where her body was found and where she disappeared.  Experts confirm that it was upstream. 18 days of inadequate search efforts, how the body drifted for kilometres, how many days the body stayed in the water, what caused the marks of beatings on her body, to whom the DNA samples found on her belonged, what happened to the second phone charger among her belongings, why her roommate who last spoke to Rojin refused to meet her, all these questions increase the family's suspicions of "murder". Considering all these unanswered questions, the family wants the perpetrator or perpetrators to be found.

 

ADDITIONAL AUTOPSY REPORT

 

In the autopsy report of Rojin Kabais the cause of death was claimed to be "drowning in water" and there was no evidence of beating or sexual assault, but the time of death and the duration of her stay in the water were not mentioned. In addition, the report, in which "drowning" was determined, did not include information on how this drowning occurred. Upon the request of the Wan (Van) Bar Association and the Women's Rights Centre of the Bar Association, Van Chief Public Prosecutor's Office requested an additional autopsy report from the ATK on the time of Rojin Kabaiş's death and the duration of her stay in the water. In the additional report prepared by the Forensic Medicine Specialised Board and sent to the prosecutor's office on 13 December, the information obtained from the previous report was mentioned. The Bar Association objected to the ATK's supplementary report due to the lack of answers to the questions.  

 

In an interview with our agency on 3 January, father Nizamettin Kabais stated that his daughter's case was tried to be closed over "suicide". Father Kabais said, "We wanted to talk to Rojin's roommate several times, but the director of the dormitory blocked us. The girl blocked our phone. That means she knows something, that's why she is running away." 

 

All our attempts to ask Eda Turkoglu Ugur, the dormitory manager, who the family blamed for the suspicious death of their daughter, about the allegations were fruitless. 

 

SECOND PROSECUTOR ASSIGNED 

 

A second prosecutor was assigned to the ongoing investigation. The new prosecutor asked for the testimonies of the father Nizamettin Kabais, mother and three sisters. The family, who live in Amed (Diyarbakır), testified to the prosecutor on 16 January via Audio and Video Information System (SEGBIS). In addition to the family, statements and DNA samples were also taken from nearly 240 people.

 

LAWYERS TO MEET WITH PROSECUTOR 

 

While the question "What happened to Rojin Kabais?" continues to be asked, even lawyers are not informed about whether there are any suspects in the file due to the restriction decision taken by the prosecutor's office. Lawyers and women's organisations continue their attempts to lift the confidentiality order. The lawyers of the file, who demanded the lifting of the decision in order to ensure justice and inform the public, are expected to meet with the prosecutor next week. 

 

MA / Ruken Polat