‘Just put your loved ones in Nadira’s shoes for a minute’

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"My sister did not commit suicide. It is a murder. A young girl full of life does not kill herself. A young girl who says, 'I will be a citizen of Turkey, I will study' does not shoot herself."

It is the voice of Muhammet Ali Kadirova that you hear above. He calls us from Russia. He wants the suspicious death of his sister and domestic worker Nadira Kadirova to be solved.

23-year-old Nadira Kadirova was found dead in the house of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) MP Şirin Ünal on September 23, 2019.

The investigation into her suspicious death ended in non-prosecution on March 5, 2020 as the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said that it was "suicide." The attorneys of Kadirova appealed against this decision; however, this appeal was also rejected on May 8, 2020. This time, the attorneys have taken the "decision of non-prosecution" to the Constitutional Court.

Speaking to bianet, Kadirova's brother Muhammet Ali Kadirova has called on the Constitutional Court "to listen to its conscience." He has said, "Put your loved ones in Nadira's shoes for a minute and decide accordingly."

'Nadira does not know how to use a gun'

Elder brother Kadirova has also noted that "Nadira was a girl who was born and raised in a village and did not know how to use a gun." "She does not know how to put the bullets into the gun, open the safety lock... She does not know any of this," he has stressed, adding the following:

"The images of Nadira have come up recently. The images of her room are obvious. It is obvious that there was a fight in the room. My sister's bad was not standing in its place. They apparently changed it as well. When you look all around the room, it was all in blood. There is a fight. My sister was a strong woman, no one could beat her. A woman cannot get her down.

'They battered my sister'

"I think three people battered my sister. While we were washing my sister, her body was full of bruises. They say, 'She might have fallen.' If she had fallen, there would be bruises in certain parts of her body. Would there be bruises all around her body? There was clearly a battery and fight.

"And there is also the allegation that she committed sucide while leaning against the heater core. The heater is all clean, there is not a single stain on it. How could she possibly commit suicide there?

'She doesn't have her fingerprints on the gun'

"Forensic medical report has been released. According to the report, the fingerprints of my sister were not identified on the gun. How did my sister shoot herself with a gun which has no fingerprints of her?

"They say she wrote a letter. Does the letter belong to Nadira or not? How can you say this without investigating it? Fingerprints of Nadira could not be found even on the pen in her room.

"What was Ünal's daughter Duygu Ünal doing at the scene where the murder took place? She still walks around and moves there. Why does this room have no warning sign saying 'No entry allowed'?

'He uses his position'

"With his position, Ünal bought off the Security, Prosecutor's Office, doctors in the hospital... He has bought off people with his means, he is using it.

"I believe in the justice of Allah. After my sister died, they said she had schizophrenia. They do not have a report about this or prescription for drugs. It is also a terrible shame. It is said by the prosecutor.

"You first battered a 23-year-old girl and shot her to death, then you say this. This is a shame.

"They also said that she was prostituting. The attorneys of Ünal said this. You have no documents or images about it. How could you call it prostitution?

"For one and a half years, my sister had cared for her wife who had been ill for 20 years. How could a girl who was allowed to go out once a week be a prostitute? How could you say this? It is a terrible shame. I am calling out to all of you: It is a terrible shame.

'They did not even express condolences'

"The Ünal family absolutely did not call to express their condolences. The furniture in the place where the murder took place, the blood on the floor, the carpets... They should have all been in the hands of the state. They have unfortunately covered it up. The state has no evidence now.

'Evidence has been spoiled'

"The evidence of the murder has been spoiled. They made a decision of non-prosecution for the file, they made pressure. A male DNA was found on my sister's body. There might have been fingerprints or footprints on these sheets. Why did you spoil this evidence?

"I am calling out to the Constitutional Court: Hear the voice of your conscience. You all have sons and daughters, you all have mothers. Just put your loved ones in Nadira's shoes for a minute.

"Just put your own children in the shoes of Nadira for a minute. Nadira could have been your daughter or sister."

What happened?

23-year-old Nadira Kadirova from Uzbekistan was a domestic worker caring for the ill wife of Şirin Ünal, an İstanbul MP for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Kadirova was found dead in Ünal's house on September 23, 2019.

It was alleged that she committed suicide with Ünal's weapon. The post-mortem procedures of Kadirova were followed by Ünal's chauffeur and the procedures that usually take longer were completed in a few days. After this swift post-mortem examination, the deceased body of Kadirova was sent to her home country and laid to rest there.

The death of Kadirova was found suspicious. While women kept asking "What happened to Nadira?" on social media, the MPs of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and Felicity Party (SP) brought the issue to the Parliamentary agenda.

In March 2020, the prosecutor's office gave a decision of non-prosecution. (EMK/SD)