AKP and MHP reject proposal to investigate Rojin Kabaiş's death: 'Let's not turn murders into a competition'

A proposal submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) by the DEM Party to investigate the suspicious death of Rojin Kabaiş, a first-year student in the Child Development Department at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University's Faculty of Education, who went missing after leaving her dormitory on September 27 last year and whose body was found on the beach of Mollakasım Neighborhood on October 15, has been rejected. 

Speaking on the proposal, CHP Sakarya Deputy Ayça Taşkent said, "We all know how many times the motions submitted by opposition parties to investigate the causes of violence against women have been rejected. Those who reject these motions are also admitting their systematic share in these murders."

Explaining the justification for the proposal, DEM Party Hakkari Deputy Öznur Bartın stated the following:

"Every suspicious death of a woman is an unclarified murder. The report dated November 1, 2024, from the Biology Specialization Department of the Istanbul Council of Forensic Medicine detected two different male DNA profiles on Rojin's body, but the first report did not explain from which region the samples were taken and stated, 'There are no suspicious findings.' After a struggle of nearly ten months, the second report dated October 10, 2025, documented that the samples were taken from the chest and vaginal areas. Why was vital information hidden from the beginning? Why did it enter the file so late? Who or whom was being protected? This delay has blocked the flow of the investigation and served to cover up Rojin's suspicious death, which is to say, a murder. The Council of Forensic Medicine's claim of a possibility of contamination, while simultaneously asserting in the same report that the risk of contamination was eliminated, is inconsistent with scientific rigor. On the day of the incident, samples were taken from more than 200 law enforcement officers, yet despite eight months of examinations, no transparent and convincing data has been presented to confirm this claim. In this case, the institutions responsible under the state have failed to fulfill their duties and, by adopting an attitude that obscures the truth instead of revealing it, have effectively placed themselves in the position of the perpetrator.

Every year in Turkey, hundreds of women lose their lives due to male violence, or their deaths are recorded as suspicious. As seen in the past in the cases of Şule Çet, Aleyna Çakır, Rabia Naz Vatan, and Nadira Kadirova, similar practices have shaken public trust in justice. This Parliament must not remain silent; it must heed Rojin's screams. Similar negligence and cover-ups must be prevented. Our demands are clear and urgent. An independent parliamentary inquiry commission must be established within the TBMM immediately."

"WE ARE TALKING ABOUT NEGLIGENCE"

Yeni Yol Group Istanbul Deputy Birol Aydın said, "It is truly a difficult situation to speak about the death of a 21-year-old girl. To say Rojin is 'like the day, like the sun.' A year has passed since Rojin faded away. I called her father, Nizamettin Bey, this morning. Even empathizing for a moment makes one's brain explode; it tears a person's heart and soul apart. We are in the year 2025. At a time when there are cameras everywhere and technology has developed so much, we are talking about negligence, possibilities, and suspicions today. Yet, with these capabilities, we should have been in a position to see and talk about how the perpetrators are suffering today. Today, there can be no excuse for a government that introduces every segment of society that does not think like it to the courthouse, the courthouse corridor, and the prison, not to solve this issue. If it's police, then police; if it's law, then law; if it's authority, then authority! Everyone is here, this must be resolved," he said.

"REPORTS ARE FULL OF CONTRADICTIONS"

İYİ Party Edirne Deputy Mehmet Akalın included the following statements:

"Rojin Kabaiş was a student at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University; just like Aleyna Çakır, Rabia Naz, Nadira Kadirova, and Şule Çet, she had dreams, but because she was a woman, she once again hit the male-dominated walls of justice in this country. Every year, hundreds of women lose their lives due to male violence, or their deaths are recorded as suspicious. In these deaths, evidence is not examined sufficiently, reports are full of contradictions and are interpreted in favor of the perpetrator. Every time, the system unfortunately protects the man who commits the crime, not the woman who cannot defend her life. This picture is not just an individual tragedy, but a systematic erosion of the rule of law. It is wrong to see this issue only as a legal case; this issue is a test of Turkey's conscience. Protecting women's right to life, preventing violence, and establishing justice is a constitutional responsibility, and this is our duty. This parliamentary inquiry motion is a call for hope not only for Rojin Kabaiş but for all women who are victims of violence in this country."

CHP SAKARYA DEPUTY AYÇA TAŞKENT STATED THE FOLLOWING:

"Just like dozens, hundreds of women, Rojin's right to life was taken from her. In this country, even a woman's survival has turned into a political issue because the perpetrators of the murders are not just individuals, but a mentality that views women as secondary, a system that makes impunity ordinary, and an order fed by silence. As we have seen in other femicides, trust in justice has been shaken once again due to the judicial deficiencies experienced after Rojin's murder. By hiding the file from the defense, a perception was created that Rojin committed suicide; evidence was hidden, reports were prepared incompletely, and the crime scene was not examined with care. There is not only an individual but an institutional chain of responsibility in Rojin's death.

Is it not a constitutional responsibility to defend women's right to life, to prevent male violence, and to ensure that the justice to be served is based on gender equality? We want justice for Rojin and for all women whose right to life has been taken away. To avoid saying 'another woman has been killed' again in this Parliament, we demand effective investigations, effective laws, deterrent punishments, and a real social transformation. We all know how many times the motions submitted by opposition parties to investigate the causes of violence against women have been rejected. Those who reject these motions are actually admitting their systematic share in these murders. We will continue our struggle for Rojin, for all suspicious deaths of women, and for a country where women can live freely and equally."

"LET'S NOT TURN MURDERS INTO A COMPETITION BASED ON GENDER"

AKP Istanbul Deputy Adem Yıldırım's statement, "Coming here and using the phrase 'every suspicious death of a woman is a murder' is an incomplete statement. Every suspicious death of a woman is not a murder; every suspicious death of a human is a murder. Let's not turn murders into a competition based on gender," drew reactions from the deputies.

On the other hand, Yıldırım stated that there was no need to establish a new commission on the subject, as the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women already exists.