Parliamentary Inquiry into Suspicious Death of Rabia Naz Rejected by AKP, MHP Votes

The parliamentary inquiry into the suspicious death of 11-year-old Rabia Naz Vatan submitted by HDP Group to Parliament has been rejected by the votes of AKP and MHP.

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Parliamentary Inquiry into Suspicious Death of Rabia Naz Rejected by AKP, MHP Votes

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The parliamentary inquiry submitted by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Group to the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) regarding the suspicious death of 11-year-old Rabia Naz Vatan has been rejected by the votes of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Posting a tweet, HDP Group Deputy Chair Fatma Kurtulan said,

"Today, our parliamentary inquiry that we submitted to the TBMM General Assembly has been rejected by the votes of AKP and MHP. If the death of Rabia Naz is an accident, it should be brought to light; if it is a murder, it should be brought to light and the responsible ones should not be protected."

HDP requested parliamentary investigation

In the parliamentary inquiry submitted to Parliament by HDP Ankara MP Filiz Kerestecioğlu, it was underlined that the detention of Şaban Vatan, who has been struggling to solve the suspicious death of her daughter, "raised the suspicions that the death of Rabia Naz was deliberately covered up."

"Since the public has witnessed it many times before that the traffic accidents involving politicians from the ruling party or their relatives were covered up, it causes reactions in the public opinion that the suspicious death of an 11-year-old child is not brought into light," Kerestecioğlu stated further.

Concluding her remarks, Kerestecioğlu emphasized the importance of establishing a Parliamentary Investigation Commission "to inquire the reasons of violations committed in investigating the suspicious death of children, especially that of Rabia Naz, as well as the reasons of irregularities and impunity committed in phases of investigation and prosecution."

However, the parliamentary inquiry of the HDP Group given in the name of Kerestecioğlu has been rejected by the AKP and MHP.

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.

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

Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu met with Vatan in February on the killing of his daughter. He told bianet after that the meeting took 10 minutes.

Giresun Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said on Mach 20 that the Görele Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is currently conducting the investigation into the incident and the search for evidence is still continuing.

On March 21, Şaban Vatan was taken into custody upon the complaint of his brother and referred to a mental institution for a mental health check. Father Vatan was then released from detention the next day, on March 22.

On March 26, father Vatan deposed at the security directorate upon the criminal complaint of AKP MP Nurettin Canikli

On April 10, the Giresun Penal Court of Peace has ruled that Şaban Vatan shall be hospitalized in Samsun Mental Health Institution to determine whether he is mentally sound or not. Vatan has referred to the verdict as "a downright injustice."

(AÖ/SD)