Father calls for investigation into daughter Rojin's death, denies suicide claims

Father of university student Rojin Kabaiş denied claims that his daughter died by suicide during a public statement, alleging foul play and calling for an investigation. Kabaiş was found dead in eastern Turkey's Van Lake 19 days after disappearing while on a stroll.

Thursday January 02 2025 11:44 pm

Students hold banners that demand "Justice for Rojin."

Duvar English

The father of Rojin Kabaiş, a first-year university student in the eastern Van province, on Jan. 2 urged authorities to investigate the circumstances of his daughter’s death. During a statement alongside Dicle University students in her native southeastern Diyarbakır province, Nizamettin Kabaiş insisted his daughter did not take her own life, as some students wept during the gathering.

The Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute reported Rojin’s cause of death as “drowning.” However, her father has been seeking justice since her Sept. 27 disappearance, rejecting claims of suicide.

Speaking at the university campus, Kabaiş called for the truth to be uncovered. “Rojin loved her life and her school. She had dreams. She was going to become a teacher. But sadly, her dreams were cut short. This is an unbearable pain for me. Rojin did not die by suicide. Don’t tell me my daughter killed herself. She loved life,” he said.

Kabaiş claimed his daughter was murdered, adding, “For 18 days, we hoped to find her alive, but sadly, they staged it as a suicide. They took her 24 kilometers away from the university and left her by the lake.”

The father claimed that there was no evidence suggesting his daughter committed suicide and that authorities pushed the narrative to close the case early.

Placing blame on the government institutions that left Rojin unprotected, “Neither the university nor the dorm protected my daughter. I will not forgive them, and neither will Rojin. My daughter was not someone who would take her own life.”

The emotional statement left many students in tears.

Rojin Kabaiş left her state dormitory on the evening of Sept. 27, a few days after moving in, and never returned. Following extensive search efforts by multiple teams, her lifeless body was discovered on Oct. 15 along the shores of Lake Van, near Molla Kasım village.