Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals has upheld a prison sentence handed down to the father of Rabia Naz Vatan, an 11-year-old girl whose suspicious death sparked a national outcry, on conviction of “sharing personal data” of a former lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Şaban Vatan, the grieving father of Rabia Naz, announced on social media Saturday that a prison sentence of one year, eight months for sharing personal data of former AKP deputy Nurettin Canikli had been upheld. He said he would surrender to authorities on Monday. In a follow-up post today, Vatan said he was en route to prison.
Vatan protested the decision and said, “Is it the murderers who should be prosecuted and imprisoned, or a father fighting for his daughter? I asked for justice for Rabia Naz. I said it everywhere: The real cause of my child’s death is being covered up. And now I’m the one being punished. A father who has lost his child will not stay silent.”
On April 12, 2018 Rabia Naz was found injured, lying on her back in front of her family’s apartment shortly after returning home from school around 5:15 p.m. The incident took place in northwestern Giresun province’s Eynesil district.
Despite being taken to the hospital, the injured girl could not be saved. The coroner initially ruled her death a suicide and that she had jumped from a height. However, her father claimed that his daughter did not die by suicide but was hit by a car.
Vatan specifically alleged that a black Fiat Doblo was involved in the incident and was driven by the nephew of then-Eynesil mayor Coşkun Somuncuoğlu. He said authorities attempted to cover up the hit-and-run due to the perpetrator’s political ties. Vatan further alleged that Canikli, a former deputy prime minister and prominent political figure from Giresun, had ordered the cover-up because he was close to the Somuncuoğlu family. Canikli filed a criminal complaint against Vatan after he made these allegations.
The circumstances surrounding Rabia Naz’s death have never been clarified; however, her father has not stopped demanding justice for seven years.
In 2019 a court ordered that Şaban Vatan be admitted to the Samsun Mental Hospital for a three-week psychiatric evaluation. At the time, Vatan said in an interview that his life had been investigated more than the circumstances surrounding his daughter’s death.
Journalist Metin Cihan, who has followed the case since the first day, has been trying to raise public awareness of the case. In an earlier social media post he asked the public not to forget what happened to Rabia Naz.
“Let’s show that we haven’t forgotten her and that we will not give up demanding that the truth behind her death be uncovered. The police and prosecutors failed to do their jobs. At first it was staged as a suicide. Then the investigation file was closed. No one was prosecuted. Her father, working like a detective, proved it was not a suicide but instead of investigating the perpetrators, they tried to have him committed to a psychiatric hospital with a fabricated document and a rushed court process. At every step, the forces that covered up the case managed to suppress all efforts to shed light on the truth. Today marks six years. Rabia Naz is still seeking justice.”
Since Vatan announced he would be sent to prison, human rights advocates have taken to social media to express solidarity with the grieving father.
