GEZİ INVESTIGATION AGAINST METİN CİHAN

‘The Time Allocated to All These Should Be Devoted to Solving Rabia Naz Murder’

Translator Metin Cihan, who has been raising concerns on social media over the suspicious death of 11-year-old Rabia Naz Vatan, has deposed at the police department due to a tweet that he posted about the Gezi resistance in 2018.

Ayşegül Özbek

‘The Time Allocated to All These Should Be Devoted to Solving Rabia Naz Murder’

"What happened to Rabia Naz Vatan?"

Click to read the article in Turkish

Translator Metin Cihan, who has been raising concerns on social media about the suspicious death of 11-year-old Rabia Naz Vatan and the struggle for justice waged by her father Şaban Vatan, has deposed at the police department due to a tweet of his about the Gezi resistance.

Being released after his deposition, Metin Cihan posted another tweet, explaining the details of the investigation. Cihan has stated that an investigation has been launched against him due to a Twitter post of his about Gezi resistance dated December 5, 2018.

Cihan has been charged with "inciting the public to enmity and hatred" on the ground that he tweeted, "I don't regret, if it were today, I would do it again #BenDeGeziciyim (I am also for Gezi)."

'First investigation against my account since 2011'

Speaking to bianet, Metin Cihan has said, "It is the first time that an investigation has been launched against my Twitter account, which has been open since 2011" and added:

"When the first indictment came out in December, I tweeted '#bendegeziciyim' (I am also for Gezi), because it was how I felt. They launched a public investigation against me as per the Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). How the investigation will proceed from now on depends on how the Prosecutor's Office will put it into operation."

Cihan has also commented on the fact that the investigation launched against him due to his tweet has concurred with his efforts on social media to raise concerns over the suspicious death of Rabia Naz Vatan:

"It is the first investigation that has been launched against my account since 2011. I don't know if it's because it [the Gezi tweet] concurred with posts about Rabia Naz Vatan. I only find it difficult to understand why the prosecutors and police of the state busy themselves with such things. I wish that they devote the time allocated to all these to solve Rabia Naz murder."

In his deposition, Metin Cihan stated the following in brief:

"Contrary to the offense of 'inciting the public to enmity and hatred' charged against me, I am a person in favor of spreading fraternity and peace. And in the related tweet of mine, there is an attitude aiming for it. Moreover, Gezi Park means 'goodness, beauty and non-violence' for me."

What happened?

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.

Translator Metin Cihan wanted the Vatan family's demand for justice to be heard by people and shared the details of the incident on Twitter. Afterwards, several social media users posted messages about the incident.

(AÖ/SD)

Ayşegül Özbek

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