The Bar Association in Van has confirmed media reports that two traces of DNA found on the body of the deceased student Rojin Kabaiş are not due to contamination. In a statement released on Thursday, the Bar Association reaffirmed its commitment to continuing to work to solve the case and identify possible perpetrators.
The Bar Association and its Center for Women’s Rights referred to a report by the Biology Department of the Institute of Forensic Medicine dated October 10, 2025. The report stated that two different male DNA traces had been found both in the sternal area and in the inner vaginal area of the corpse.
Two reports – different assessments
The public prosecutor’s office then requested a supplementary report from Van in order to have the origin of the traces classified medically and forensically. According to the chamber, two reports were then prepared: one by the biological department and another by the 5th specialist department of the Institute of Forensic Medicine.
The first report left open the possibility of contamination. The 5th specialist department, on the other hand, emphasized that the DNA traces could indicate both external contamination and possible previous physical interaction with male individuals. It was recommended that potential suspects be identified and DNA samples analyzed promptly.
Contamination ruled out
However, the Bar Association’s statement said that the Institute of Forensic Medicine ruled out the possibility of contamination after a comprehensive review of all transport and examination processes. According to the statement, the DNA profiles of a total of 134 people—including individuals who had contact with the body or communicated with Rojin Kabaiş prior to her disappearance—were compared with the traces secured on the deceased’s body. No match was found.
International cooperation requested
The Bar Association also announced that, in consultation with the public prosecutor’s office, DNA comparisons with other suspects are to be carried out. To this end, samples are to be sent to the biological department of the Istanbul Institute of Forensic Medicine, if available. In addition, the public prosecutor’s office has announced that legal assistance proceedings are currently underway with Spain. The aim is to open and evaluate the deceased’s mobile phone, which is already in the possession of the Spanish authorities.
“Our requests for clarification of the case have been added to the investigation file. We will continue to fight with all our might to shed light on the suspicious death of Rojin Kabaiş,” the statement concluded.
The Rojin Kabaiş case
Rojin Kabaiş was a student at Yüzüncü Yıl University in Van. In October 2024, the 21-year-old was found dead 18 days after her disappearance from a dormitory on the shores of Lake Van. The investigating authorities quickly put forward the theory of suicide—an interpretation that was strongly questioned by her family and their legal counsel from the outset. The family’s legal counsel did not receive access to the first forensic report, which contained evidence of possible sexual violence, until almost a year after the Kurdish woman’s death.
The circumstances surrounding Rojin Kabaiş’s death, the response of the authorities, and the progress of the investigation to date raise many questions from the perspective of human rights organizations and relatives. The family’s defense assumes that this may have been a case of femicide and is demanding complete transparency, particularly with regard to the investigation, the medical reports, and the assessments by the public prosecutor’s office.
Rojin Kabaiş’s family is also demanding an explanation as to why the rector of the University of Van, Hamdullah Şevli, who sat in the Turkish parliament for several years for the ruling AKP, participated in Rojin Kabaiş’s autopsy without any medical qualifications. The family is also demanding that the confidentiality order on the investigation file be lifted.