Cennet Yiğit was a member of the security forces who served as an assistant commissioner within the Directorate of Special Operations of the General Directorate of Security of the Republic of Türkiye, active between 1993 and 2016. Yiğit lost her life during a bomb attack on the settlement in Gölbaşı, Ankara on 15 July 2016. During her academic studies, she engaged in visual arts and later specialized in the Special Operations unit. Throughout her professional career, she carried out operational duties in critical regions such as Diyarbakır’s Sur district and actively participated in social responsibility initiatives.^【1】

Cennet Yiğit was born on 3 September 1993 in the Alanya district of Antalya. She was the younger of two daughters of Yahya Kemal Yiğit and Huriye Yiğit. She spent part of her childhood in Antalya and began her primary education there. Her family’s origins trace back to the Bünyan district of Kayseri.^【2】

Yiğit completed the first eight years of her education at Antalya Hayate Hanım Primary School. She moved to Kayseri to pursue her high school education and graduated from the Painting Department of Fevziye Memduh Güpgüpoğlu High School of Fine Arts and Sports. She continued her higher education at Gazi University, Faculty of Education, in the Department of Painting and Handicrafts Teaching. While in her final year of university, she took and passed the Police Academy entrance examinations. During this period, she simultaneously completed her studies at both the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Police Academy, graduating from both institutions.^【3】

^{Cennet Yiğit} (Şehit Cennet Yiğit Anaokulu)

After graduating from university, Yiğit chose to pursue a career as a security officer and, guided by her interest in special operations, enrolled in its specialized training program. Upon completing a three-month specialization course, she earned the right to wear the Special Operations uniform. She served for ten months in the Directorate of Special Operations under the rank of assistant commissioner. Although she had previously been fearful of firearms during childhood, she overcame this during her academy training and developed expertise in marksmanship, achieving top rankings.^【4】

In addition to her professional duties, Cennet Yiğit participated in various social assistance initiatives. She read books and tutored visually impaired individuals to support their education. Known for her sensitivity toward children, family statements indicate that Yiğit aimed to develop projects focused on the education and needs of children with disabilities.^【5】

As part of her operational career, Yiğit served for approximately two months in the Sur district of Diyarbakır during a period known as the “Trench Operations.” During this time, she operated in high-risk combat zones and actively participated in counter-terrorism efforts. To protect her family’s psychological well-being, she chose not to share with them the life-threatening dangers and combat details she encountered during her service.^【6】

^{Cennet Yiğit} (Şehit Cennet Yiğit İmam Hatip Ortaokulu)

On 15 July 2016, Yiğit was on official leave, preparing for an engagement ceremony scheduled to take place approximately twenty days later. Upon learning of the coup attempt, she went to her duty station at the Directorate of Special Operations in Ankara’s Gölbaşı district without waiting for any official summons. While on duty, she called her colleagues who were on leave to mobilize them to the unit. During an aerial attack on the operations center using munitions restricted under international law (pellet bombs), she lost her life alongside her colleagues Kübra Doğanay, Gülşah Güler and Seher Yaşar.^【7】

^{Cennet Yiğit's Funeral Ceremony} (T.C. Bünyan Kaymakamlığı)

Cennet Yiğit’s funeral was held on 19 July 2016 in a formal ceremony in the Bünyan district of Kayseri. The ceremony, held at the district square, was attended by Kayseri Governor Süleyman Kamçı, members of parliament, military officials, security directors, and numerous citizens. After the funeral prayer, her body was taken to the Bünyan Martyrs’ Cemetery accompanied by police officers and citizens, where she was buried with prayers. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Turkish flag and her photograph were presented to her family.^【8】

^{Cennet Yiğit's Mother and Father} (Anadolu Ajansı)

To honor her memory, the ground floor of her family home in Bünyan, Kayseri, has been converted into the “Martyr Assistant Commissioner Cennet Yiğit Memorial House.” The museum displays her combat boots, damaged personal belongings, her first camera, and her own paintings. Her name has been given to an Imam Hatip Middle School in Kayseri’s Melikgazi district and to a preschool in Konyaaltı, Antalya. Additionally, following the 2020 Elazığ earthquake, her family donated the Ankara apartment allocated to them by the state to the Turkish Red Crescent, in recognition of its services during the 15 July process.^【9】