Lawyers highlight abuse of confidentiality order in Rojin Kabaiş's murder case

A march in eastern Turkey's Van province honored Rojin Kabaiş, who was found dead after disappearing. Her father and activists criticized the investigation's lack of transparency and demanded accountability regarding her death.

Friday January 10 2025 10:47 pm

Protesters hold signs that read, "What happened to Rojin"

Kadir Cesur / Gazete Duvar

A march was held in Turkey's eastern Van province for university student Rojin Kabaiş, who went missing on Sept. 27 after leaving her dormitory and was found dead 18 days later on the shores of Lake Van.

Participants included Kabaiş’s father, Nizamettin Kabaiş, representatives from the Van Bar Association Women’s Rights Center, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), numerous civil society organizations, and students.

The Van Bar Association unfurls a banner that reads, "Fight for Rojin is a fight for all women!"

During the march, participants frequently chanted slogans such as “Justice for Rojin” and “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî.” Before the event, Father Kabaiş kissed a photo of his daughter and broke down in tears.

The march began at Rojin's dormitory at the Van Yüzüncü Yıl University and ended at the university’s Lake Van shoreline, where Kabaiş was last seen.

Medine Turantaylak, a member of the Van Bar Association Women’s Rights Center, read a joint press statement. The statement criticized the lack of an effective investigation into Kabaiş’s case and noted that a confidentiality order imposed by the prosecutor’s office hindered the family and their lawyers’ access to the case file.

“The confidentiality order applied from the start of the case has limited the information shared with the public to avoid compromising the investigation."

She continued, "While the prosecutor’s office withheld case documents from even the complainant’s lawyers, it has come to our attention that certain documents were shared with select media outlets. This demonstrates that the confidentiality order was applied solely against the lawyers following the case.”

The statement also highlighted procedural shortcomings, including the restriction of forensic examinations to a single medical expert despite repeated objections. It noted that the preliminary autopsy report was not provided to the family.

“Rojin’s cause of death was determined to be drowning. However, it remains unclear whether the drowning was due to suicide or external intervention, whether it occurred in Lake Van, or if her body was placed in the lake after drowning elsewhere."

Additionally, lawyers still did not know why Rojin’s slippers, which she was wearing the day she disappeared, had not been found. "Locating the slippers could provide crucial insights into where she went missing and the direction of her body’s movement in the water."

"Additionally, we question why her phone, believed to be hers, has not been unlocked. In other investigations, technical analyses are conducted more efficiently, suggesting negligence in this case,” Turantaylak noted.

Van Bar Association President Sinan Özaraz also criticized the investigation’s inefficiency, saying, “The confidentiality order remains in effect, preventing the family from understanding the evidence and hindering the lawyers’ ability to conduct an effective investigation. This lack of transparency obstructs justice."

Özaraz maintained that certain documents were leaked to the press to create a narrative of "suicide."

"We call on the prosecutor’s office and the Justice Ministry to lift the confidentiality order and address our requests for a fair and transparent investigation,” the statement concluded.

Before the statements, Nizamettin Kabaiş shouted, “Rojin’s education ended too soon.” He later addressed the crowd, expressing anger at the dormitory’s lack of accountability.

“I do not forgive the dormitory. They failed to protect my daughter. She did not return one night, and they didn’t inform us for 17 hours. Where were the two security guards on duty when Rojin disappeared? To the dormitory staff, I say this: Protect the young people here. Let no more Rojins die. Justice for Rojin is justice for all women. Find my daughter’s killer immediately. There is no sleep for us, day or night.”

(English version by Ayşenaz Toptaş)