Detained Journalist Coşkun Asked About 'Her Meeting with Witness'

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Journalist Canan Coşkun was detained last night during a visit in Eynesil, Giresun with the parliamentary investigation committee to carry out an examination on the suspicious death of 11-year-old Rabia Naz Vatan.

Giving a statement at the Eynesil Police Station this morning, Coşkun was asked about her meeting with Mürsel Küçükal, a witness in the case of Rabia Naz.

Coşkun has been charged with "blackmailing, threat, causing injury on purpose, insult, and depriving a person of his/her freedom."

"Küçükal voluntarily spoke about the incident"

Coşkun said in her questioning that she previously wrote news reports on the issue and came to Eynesil as an advisor to main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Jale Nur Süllü, a member of the parliamentary committee. She said that she works together with documentary filmmaker Kazım Kızıl and he came to shoot videos.

Saying that they were together with the committee while they were listening to the witnesses, Coşkun told the police that she then went to Küçükal's home and he began to tell her about the incident right away.

She further stated that Küçükal brought her to the place where the incident happened and voluntarily told her about the details in his statement. She said she did not force him to go to the place of the incident, contrary to the allegations.

While Coşkun and Küçükal we at the place of the incident, Şaban Vatan, the father of Rabia Naz came near them and said something to him along the lines of "Why did you change your statement, didn't you take an oath?"

"After this point, I didn't ask anything to Küçükal, they continued to talk among themselves. Küçükal said, 'Come, I will show you,' to Vatan, Vatan said, 'Show how she was crawling.' I kept my phone's voice recorder open to not skip any details. The whole incident is recorded," Coşkun said.

During that time, Kızıl was also shooting footage, Coşkun said, adding that she did not have a previous meeting with Kızıl or Vatan on the day of the incident.

Coşkun's questioning was completed at around 9 a.m. Kızıl's questioning started afterward. Rabia Naz's father Şaban Vatan was also taken to the police station to give a statement.

Union reacted to the detention

The DİSK Basın-İş press union has released a statement on the detention of Coşkun:

"Coşkun was there to advise an MP because she has detailed information about the incident. Because the dark points about the incident have not been elucidated since the first day, our colleagues were having talks.

"Meeting with witness Mürsel Küçükal, who changed his statement in the case, Coşkun went to the scene with Küçükal. They encountered with Tuğba Kaya, Kazım Kızıl and Şaban Vatan, who were also filming there. Here there was a discussion between Vatan and Küçükal.

"Later, they were taken into custody upon the complaint of Küçükal's wife. Our colleagues were in Eynesil due to their journalism duties, and they were detained while performing this task. Our colleagues should be released immediately. Journalism is not a crime."

Rabia Naz Vatan was found injured in front of her home in Eynesil, Giresun on April 13, 2018. While the police records said that the girl committed suicide by jumping from the terrace of her family's home, her father claimed that she was killed.

"A car hit my daughter but the hit was not strong enough to result in her death. Those who hit Rabia Naz then brought her near my house to make the incident look like my daughter committed suicide. My daughter lost her life because of blood loss," he said.

Vatan said that the person who hit her daughter by a car was the nephew of Eynesil Mayor Coşkun Somuncuoğlu, according to the information he obtained.

Vatan also claimed that the case was covered up after the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) Giresun MP Nurettin Canikli intervened in.

(AS/VK)