Suspicion lingers over the death of an Uzbek national in Ankara

Duvar English 

The lawyer for the family of Nadira Kadirova, an Uzbek national who was found dead in the home of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Şirin Unal last week, has said that Kadirova's death is suspicious and that Unal is being protected by the state.

“Was Nadira sexually assaulted or not, was she killed or not? We want to investigate these matters. For this reason we are fighting for justice. It was made known that Nadira died on Monday, and on Wednesday her body was sent together with her family to Uzbekistan,” said the family's lawyer Müjde Tozbey Erden on the Cumhuriyet TV program. According to Erden, the Ankara prosecutor's office did not investigate whether Kadirova had been the victim of sexual assault.

Kadirova was employed at the home of AKP deputy Unal, where she was working as a caretaker for Unal's ailing wife.

Though ruled a suicide by the Ankara police department, the 23-year-old Kadirova's death has been the source of suspicion. Erden said that Kadirova's autopsy report was prepared within two days, but that such reports prepared by forensic medical specialists usually take six months in Turkey.

“I know my sister very well. She did not have the courage to shoot herself. There is no possibility that this 23-year-old woman got a gun, put the clip in and shot herself,” said her brother Muhammed Ali Kadirova.

Allegations of sexual assault

Prior to her death, Kadirova reportedly told a close friend that Unal had entered a room where she was lying down, locked the door, and began to cuddle her.

During the first eight months of this year in Turkey, the suicides of 15 women have been deemed suspicious.