Bar associations in Turkey’s southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır and Van have filed a criminal complaint against the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK), accusing it of negligence and obstruction in the investigation into the death of university student Rojin Kabaiş, the Sur Ajans news website reported.
The Van Bar Association said the ATK failed to disclose the anatomical locations from which DNA samples were taken, despite repeated requests from the prosecutor. The association accused the forensic body of obstructing justice and violating its duty to conduct impartial and scientifically rigorous autopsies.
The complaint was filed under Article 257 of the Turkish Penal Code for “misuse of office” and Article 281 for “concealment of evidence.”
Kabaiş, 21, went missing after leaving her dormitory in Van on September 27, 2024. Her body was found 18 days later on the shore of Lake Van, nearly 18 kilometers from where she disappeared. The autopsy report listed her cause of death as asphyxiation and noted the presence of two unidentified male DNA samples on her body, along with a woman’s blood on her undershirt. Authorities have yet to determine the origin of these samples.
According to her father, the authorities said it was a suicide and intended to shut the investigation down immediately. However, her family is adamant that their daughter didn’t die by suicide and demand a thorough investigation.
Although an official report has not been issued, the family’s lawyer said the autopsy indicated bruises on the young woman’s body.
Femicides and violence against women are chronic problems in Turkey, where women are killed, raped or beaten almost every day. A total of 145 women were murdered in Turkey in the first six months of 2025, while an additional 215 died under suspicious circumstances.
Women’s rights organizations have for years been trying to raise awareness about the rise in violence against women that has taken place in the last two decades. Many critics say the main reason behind the situation is the policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, which protects violent and abusive men by affording them impunity.
