Erdoğan sues Şaban Vatan seeking justice for 11-year-old daughter's suspicious death

Duvar English

Şaban Vatan, the father of Rabia Naz who was found dead in a suspicious way six years ago, is facing a lawsuit over “publicly insulting the President” filed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the former announced on April 20 on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In a post, Vatan said “Mr. Erdoğan, what is the purpose of your lawyer, isn't it enough? Isn't the persecution you have put me through for years enough? For six years you've been letting murderers walk the streets. Shall we provide our own justice now? My daughter was murdered. Damn it!”

The plaintiff included some of Vatan’s social media posts in the application, claiming that Vatan “publicly insulted” Erdoğan. 

“Mr. Erdoğan, I stand by every word I have said. Hand over the murderers, rapists, perverts, and traitors within your party to the judiciary,” Vatan added on April 20.

What happened?

On 12 April 2018, Rabia Naz Vatan was found heavily injured and unable to talk in front of her home in Turkey’s northern Giresun province.

She died shortly afterward in hospital, leaving behind a family determined to uncover the details behind her suspicious death. 

Since 2018, Rabia Naz’s father Şaban Vatan faced nothing short of defamation, gaslighting, and threats in response to his calls to Turkish authorities to illuminate the circumstances of his daughter’s death.

Rabia Naz’s death remains unresolved, and no defendants have been put on trial concerning the suspected homicide.

The authorities ruled that the girl had committed suicide from the roof terrace of her family home, but Şaban Vatan has been campaigning for a more detailed probe after finding evidence that contradicted the ruling. 

Şaban Vatan insisted that she was hit by a car driven by the nephew of then-Eynesil Mayor Coşkun Somuncuoğlu from the AKP.

Vatan has also maintained that former minister and former AKP deputy Nurettin Canikli personally intervened to cover the story up.