Ministry of Interior halts underwater search for Gülistan Doku

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The fate and whereabouts of Gülistan Doku, a university student in Dersim province, have been unknown since January 5, 2020.

The underwater search operations for her have been halted by the decision of the Ministry of Interior as of today (July 6). The search was carried out in the vicinity of Uzunçayır Dam Lake and Sarısaltuk Viaduct.

Speaking to bianet about the issue, Mehmet Ali Özkan, the Governor of Tunceli (Dersim), has said that the works will continue above the water:

"The operations carried out under the water have been halted upon the instruction of our Interior Ministry. Our teams worked seriously and dived into water for several times. Underwater search operations have been stopped, but the teams will keep searching for her on the surface in boats."

'Prosecutor also said she was in the water'

Aygül Doku, the elder sister of Gülistan Doku, has sharply criticized the incident and said, "My sister is not on the ground, she is not in the water... Then, where is she? They should give us my sister, we want my sister."

Elder sister Doku has also referred to the statements of Serhat Savaşçı, the prosecutor of the investigation, as well as former Governor Tuncay Sonel, who was appointed to Ordu a month ago:

"The prosecutor of the investigation says that she is 99 percent in the water. Former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel said that she was in the water. But the diver teams searching the water say, 'No, the girl is not in the water.'

"When we appealed to the prosecutor and governor to tell them 'We do not believe that our girl is in the water, request the camera footage, tell them to extend the investigation and arrest the suspect, our all requests were rejected by the prosecutor. Camera footage is kept for only two or three months. When it is deleted, we will have nothing left whatsoever.

'Former Governor swore on his children'

"Former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel said that he would be following the search operations even when he left the city. He swore on his children that he would find Gülistan. When the search operations were still ongoing, he constantly sent Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) Director to us. 

"The Director said, 'Trust Mr. Sonel, believe him, he will give you your sister back. He will take Gülistan out of the water. He will find Gülistan. But, today, I have texted the former Governor and informed him that the search has been stopped. He has not answered back.

'We will now wait in front of the Parliament'

"New Governor Mehmet Ali Özkan says that he does not have a comprehensive knowledge of the file and that the decision has been taken by the Ministry of Interior. We requested that Tuncay Sonel ensure the dam gates would be opened. They were not. The water level was reduced by 10 meters. But, this time, the search has been halted.

"If my sister is in the water, then, why have they stopped the search? Why don't they search for her in a wider area? We will not give up searching for my sister. We have waited till now, we will wait in front of the Parliament from now on." (RT/SD)