HDP Asks About Missing Women in Dersim: First Gülistan, Now Esma

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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Dersim MP Alican Önlü has submitted a Parliamentary question about Esma Kılıçarslan, who was found dead in Uzunçayır Dam Lake on April 7, and Gülistan Doku, whose fate and whereabouts is not known for over three months.

In his question addressed to the Ministry of Interior, Önlü has said that Esma Kılıçarslan left home in Hozat, Dersim on March 11 to attend a wedding in city center, she got missing afterwards and her deceased body was coincidentally found during the search and rescue operations for Specialized Sergeant Yılmaz Güneş, whose boat capsized while doing rafting.

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'Dersim kept under surveillance with cameras 24/7'

From the moment her family reported her missing to the day when her deceased body was found, the search operations were not seriously conducted, HDP's Önlü has noted and briefly stated the following:

"Just as in the case of search operations for Gülistan Doku, who has been missing for 99 days, the search operations for Esma Kılıçarslan were apparently not conducted in a qualified and efficient manner, either.

"Women go missing in a city like Dersim which is kept under surveillance with police and gendarmerie stations and cameras 24 hours a day. They cannot be found in searches. But for the search for the Specialized Sergeant, the dead body of Esma Kılıçarslan may not have been found."

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Önlü has asked the Ministry the following questions:

• Are you conducting an investigation into the death of Esma Kılıçarslan as a ministry? If yes, what is the current stage of this investigation?
• When was Esma Kılıçarslan reported missing first and by whom?
• After she was reported missing, when did the search operations for Esma Kılıçarslan start first? Which teams participated in them?
• Until when did the search operations for Esma Kılıçarslan continue the last time? And in what areas were these operations carried out?
• Was her family informed during the search operations for Esma Kılıçarslan? Which possibilities were entertained during the search?
• Do you have information about where and when Esma Kılıçarslan was seen for the last time? Are there any camera records or telephone records relating to this?
• Did the dead body of Esma Kılıçarslan undergo a detailed postmortem examination? If yes, will you share its details with the public?
• Lastly, where is Gülistan Doku, whose fate and whereabouts is not known for 99 days?

(RT/SD)