One year after the death of student Rojin Kabaiş in Van, the provincial bar association has criticized serious shortcomings in the investigation. Bar President Sinan Özaraz sees the Forensic Medicine Institute, which is subordinate to the Turkish Ministry of Justice, as a central obstacle to the investigation. Despite repeated requests, the institution has withheld essential forensic information, Özaraz told the Mezopotamya news agency.

Rojin Kabaiş was a first-year student in the Department of Early Childhood Education at Yüzüncü Yıl University and disappeared from a student dormitory in Van on September 27, 2024. Her body was found 18 days later on the shore of Lake Van. According to the autopsy, the 21-year-old drowned. However, DNA traces from two men and a bloodstain on an item of clothing were found on her body and personal belongings. To date, it has not been determined who the traces belong to.

“The Forensic Medicine Institute has withheld key information, including the origin of the DNA traces found on Rojin's body. This information is crucial to the proceedings,” said Özaraz. “The investigation has been blocked for months. We have been waiting for a response since January, but despite repeated inquiries to the institute, nothing has been added to the investigation file to date,” stated the lawyer.

Complaint filed for suppression of evidence

Together with the Diyarbakır Bar Association, the Van Bar Association has now filed a criminal complaint against those responsible at the Forensic Medicine Institute. The complaint is directed not only against the Istanbul-based Institute, but also against the Biology Specialization Board. The bar association accuses the institute of violating Article 257 (abuse of office) and Article 281 (suppression of evidence) of the Turkish Penal Code.

“The fact that DNA traces cannot be located on the body of a suspected victim of violence is not a normal procedural delay—this is a massive impediment to finding the truth,” Özaraz emphasized. The investigation, he said, is also hampered by the ongoing confidentiality order on the file, which makes independent assessments difficult.

According to the bar association, the unanswered questions include the exact time of death, the condition of the water in which the body was found, and toxicological findings regarding the contents of the deceased's stomach. This information has also not yet been fully disclosed.

“Public trust in the justice system is being damaged”

Özaraz warns of the social consequences of such failures: “When women's deaths remain unsolved, it increasingly creates the impression that investigations are being deliberately delayed.” Many of these cases are closed without any reliable clarification, which permanently undermines public trust in the justice system.