Reber Soydan, who was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment and 53 years in prison for “disrupting the unity and integrity of the country” after being arrested on October 23, 2022 in Gever (Yüksekova) district of Colemêrg (Hakkari), died under suspicious circumstances on May 11. Soydan died in Van Type F High Security Prison and his body was buried in his hometown on May 12. The prison administration claimed that Soydan had committed suicide. The family, on the other hand, stated that they had spoken to Soydan on the phone before the incident, that he was in good spirits and that they did not believe the suicide claim. 

 

Van Chief Public Prosecutor's Office completed the investigation into Soydan's death. It was claimed that Soydan had committed suicide by hanging himself, and a decision was made that there was “no grounds for prosecution”. 

 

CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION REPORT 

 

Within the scope of the investigation, it was reported that internal organ samples were sent to Erzurum Forensic Medicine Group Presidency and nail/tissue samples were sent to Trabzon Forensic Medicine Group Presidency in order to determine his death. The Crime Scene Investigation report stated the following about Soydan's death: “There are beds on the 2nd floor in the ward, there are three windows, there is a hanging rope, which is declared as a sheet cover, attached to the window railing in the middle part, and there is a fixed knot at the end of the rope, and it is concluded that there is no suspicious situation in the examination (...)”

 

Before the autopsy procedures, it was stated that a handwritten note was found on Soydan's clothes, which was considered as a “suicide note”. It was stated that the handwriting on the note starting with the phrase “My dear Aylem...” belonged to Soydan. However, what was written in the note was not included in the investigation file. 

 

EXPERT REPORT 

 

In the expert report, Soydan's “half ace (The body is in contact with the ground with any part of the body. This contact does not have to be minimal. The person can be hanged kneeling or cross-legged. This is the form usually seen in suicides)”. On July 30, the autopsy report claimed that Soydan's death had occurred “as a result of hanging”. 

 

JUSTIFICATION FOR THE DECISION 

 

The prosecutor's decision was based on the following grounds: “No concrete evidence beyond all doubt has been obtained that there is any suspicious situation regarding the incident, there is no crime or criminal related to the incident, therefore there is no matter to continue the investigation.”