DistantNews
Support us
Turkish Ministry Refutes Claims of Untested DNA Evidence in Student's Death Case
🇹🇷 Turkey /Crime & Justice

Turkish Ministry Refutes Claims of Untested DNA Evidence in Student's Death Case

From Cumhuriyet · () Turkish

Translated from Turkish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Under investigation
  • The Turkish Ministry of Justice refuted claims that DNA samples were not taken from the clothing of Rojin Kabaiş, a student found dead in 2024.
  • The ministry stated that biological and DNA analyses were conducted on Kabaiş's clothing by both the Van Gendarmerie Criminal Laboratory and the Forensic Medicine Institute.
  • These actions were taken in response to allegations that crucial forensic tests were not performed, which the ministry described as false and misleading.

Turkey's Ministry of Justice has officially denied allegations that crucial DNA evidence was not collected from the clothing of Rojin Kabaiş, a 21-year-old university student whose body was found by a lake in 2024. Kabaiş's family has contested the initial assessment of suicide and initiated a legal battle. Recent claims suggested that DNA samples were not taken from her clothes, and that analysis would only be conducted two years later, following a request from the family's lawyer.

The truth is; biological examinations and DNA analyses have been carried out on the clothes reported to have been removed from Rojin Kabaiş.

— Ministry of JusticeResponding to claims that DNA evidence was not collected from the victim's clothing.

In a detailed statement, the Ministry of Justice clarified that biological examinations and DNA analyses were indeed performed on the clothing attributed to Kabaiş. The garments were first sent to the Van Gendarmerie Criminal Laboratory, where a report on biological examinations was prepared. Subsequently, the clothes were transferred to the Biology Specialization Department of the Forensic Medicine Institute, which also conducted detailed analyses.

Therefore, the claim that 'DNA samples were not taken from Rojin Kabaiş's clothes' is clearly contrary to the truth.

— Ministry of JusticeAffirming that all necessary forensic tests were completed.

The ministry emphasized that numerous stains and swabs were collected from various parts of Kabaiş's underwear, tracksuit top, and bottoms. These samples underwent multiple tests, including visual stain examination, human blood analysis, menstrual blood investigation, autosomal STR DNA analysis, and Y-STR DNA analysis. Therefore, the ministry asserted, the claim that DNA samples were not taken from Kabaiş's clothing is factually incorrect. The ministry urged the public to disregard unverified and misleading information circulating about the ongoing investigation.

It is strongly requested that the public not give credence to unverified, misleading, and disinformation content regarding the ongoing investigation.

— Ministry of JusticeUrging caution against false information about the case.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Cumhuriyet in Turkish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog