Ferhat Atılgan, living in Yüksekova (Gever), in the province of Hakkari (Colemêrg), was summoned to the Prosecutor's Office on 23 January 2023 to testify. He went to testify at around 3pm and allegedly ended his life by suddenly jumping out of the window in the room where the prosecutor had taken his statement.

Although the Prosecutor's Office and the Police said it was a suicide, the death of Atılgan aroused suspicion.

Why was no autopsy done?

The young man’s body, which would have been sent to Hakkari for autopsy under normal circumstances, was in fact examined superficially by a prosecutor and a doctor in Yüksekova, and a death report was prepared there. The body was handed over to his family within half an hour.

Ferhat Atılgan was detained last year for sharing a photograph of himself wearing a kufya on social media. He was now called to give a statement because his DNA allegedly matched that found on a glove used to throw a Molotov cocktail.

The Public Prosecutor said he would refer him to court with a request for arrest. At that time, while the prosecutor and the clerk were in the Office of the Prosecutor, Ferhat Atılgan suddenly ran towards the window and threw himself.

According to the information given by the authorities, Atılgan, who was frequently imprisoned, taken into custody and summoned to testify in the past years, allegedly committed suicide by throwing himself from the Prosecutor's Office window because of the distress of being arrested again.

Family calls for investigation

The relatives of the young man, however, are not convinced by the official statements and asked for the death to be fully investigated. “This cannot be a suicide. – they said - It is not plausible for him to jump out of the window during the deposition at the prosecutor's office. The body was immediately handed over to his family without an autopsy. This death is very suspicious.”