Şaban Vatan Listed Among ‘Heroes of the Year’ by Balkan Insight
Click to read the article in Turkish
Publishing news in Southern and Eastern Europe, Balkan Insight has announced its Heroes of the Year. Among the names listed among the website's heroes is also Şaban Vatan, who has been struggling to solve the suspicious death of his 11-year-old daughter Rabia Naz.
Şaban Vatan has been striving to solve the suspicious death of her daughter who was found wounded in front of their house in Eynesil, Giresun around a year and a half ago and lost her life at the hospital.
Meet our 2019 #Heroes
— Balkan Insight (@BalkanInsight) December 25, 2019
Just as we did last year, we’re recognising the people who this year spoke out against injustice, against violations of human rights or simply put the greater good before their own.
See who made the list: https://t.co/YccJSpe96m pic.twitter.com/0EJQdUs29O
'A father who won't give up fight for truth'
Sharing the story of Rabia Naz Vatan and her father Şaban Vatan with its readers, Balkan Insight has referred to Şaban Vatan as the "father who will not give up the fight for the truth".
The website has recounted their story briefly as follows:
"In 2019, Turkey witnessed a father' tenacious fight for the truth about his young daughter's suspicious death.
"Saban Vatan's daughter, Rabia Naz, was found dead in front of a building nearby her house. Police and the prosecutor's office said that she had committed suicide by jumping from the roof, which is seen as almost physically impossible for an 11-year-old child.
"Vatan never accepted the official claim and started to follow all the evidence during the legal process and raise his voice. Although the family used to be members of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party and had contacts with city MPs and other important names, no one helped Vatan, and the prosecutor's office dismissed all his inquiries.
"Vatan believes a driver hit Rabia Naz with his car and the murder was covered up. According to him, the driver was most likely a relative of the former mayor of Eynesil district in Giresun province where the family lives.
"The former mayor is very close to former Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli who also represents the city in parliament.
"In July, an investigative commission into Rabia Naz's suspicious death was established in parliament under high pressure, but in November police detained journalists working for the commission in Eynesil and Vatan's house was raided and he was taken into custody for a short time.
"The Prosecutor's office also changed its defence in the commission, but the new arguments about Rabia Naz's death were also found unconvincing. On the contrary, it has all increased the support for Vatan and public anger with the government."
Balkan Insight's other heroes of the year
- Husic Family/Bosnia: Family who adopted a lonely migrant
- Destructive Creation/Bulgaria: Art collective who warmed poor neighbourhood
- Jelena Veljaca/Croatia: Actress who took on culture of sexual violence
- Gezim Kastrati/Kosovo: Parents who demanded justice for their daughter
- Victor Spinu/Moldova: Cyber-activist who took down government trolls
- Predrag Krstonijevic and Miso Jaksic/Montenegro: Judges who stood up for media freedom
- Lenche Zdravkin/North Macedonia: Woman who became 'refugees' angel'
- Magda Savuica/Romania: High-flyer who went to live with poor
- Marija Lukic/Serbia: Town hall worker who dared say 'me too'
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 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)