DOKU MISSING FOR 2 YEARS
‘They have stalled us for 2 years, saying that they will find Gülistan’
* Photos: PİRHA
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It has been two years since Gülistan Doku, a sophomore at the Department of Child Development of Munzur University, went missing in Turkey's eastern province of Dersim on January 5, 2020.
On this occasion, the Dersim Women's Platform met in Dersim yesterday (January 5) and held a statement for the press.
Gathering at the Seyit Rıza Square, women said, "It may ever be as long as 2 thousand years, let alone 2: We will not give up."
Making a statement on behalf of the platform, Raife Yılmaz said that there has been no progress in the investigation launched into the disappearance of Doku despite the 2 years that have passed since then.
Referring to the prosecutor's office statement suggesting that it was a "suicide", Yılmaz said, "They created an impression that Gülistan jumped off the bridge. But search efforts remained inconclusive. As for Zaynal Abarakov, the only suspect in the file and the last person that Gülistan met, taking his statement was all that was done about him during all this time. The meetings of the family with authorities have remained inconclusive."
Further in her speech, Yılmaz raised concerns that "while no action was taken against the suspects, a lawsuit was filed against Gülistan Doku's elder sister Aygül Doku." Recalling that the family started a sit-in protest in response to all these and met the Governor, she said:
The statements of the governor and the prosecutor are in a nature of whitewashing the suspects. When the mother said, 'We will not leave here until finding Gülistan,' the governor said, 'Do whatever you want,' which shows that the authorities do not attach importance to this incident and that they have closed it in their own eyes.
'Why wasn't the suspect put on trial?'
The Doku family and the Dersim Women's Platform went to the Dinar Bridge, where Gülistan Doku was seen for the last time, following their press statement at the Seyit Rıza Square. Addressing the crowd there, elder sister Aygül Doku raised concerns that "they have been stalling the family for the past two years, saying that they will find Gülistan."
She underlined that no effective investigation was carried out into her disappearance. Recalling that no criminal inquiries were done in the home or vehicle of chief suspect Abarakov, Doku asked why he was not put on trial. Afterwards, the group went in front of the Tunceli Courthouse.
What happened?University student Gülistan Doku did not return to the Credit and Dormitories (KYK) Women's Dormitory on January 5, 2020. As her roommates could not reach her by phone, they got worried and appealed to the Tunceli Provincial Directorate of Security. Her family was also informed about the issue. The family came to Dersim on January 6 and reported Gülistan Doku missing at the security directorate. Consulting her friends and tracking the signals of her mobile phone, police officers also examined the city surveillance cameras and found that she got on the university minibus at the bus stop in Atatürk Neighborhood at 11.29. However, even though the city surveillance cameras along the way were examined, it could not be determined where she got off. The driver of the minibus was identified and summoned to depose. The driver said that the minibus did not enter the university as it was Sunday, the minibus returned empty and he could not remember where Gülistan Doku got off. It is speculated that Doku got off at Sarı Saltuk Bridge in the city center, the only bus stop outside the sight of surveillance cameras. Thanks to the struggle of women and the Doku family, the authorities decided to drain the water of the dam to find her. On June 17, a petition was submitted to the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to arrest Zeınal Abarakov, the chief suspect of the file. On August 29, the expert report was completed. Afterwards, Ali Çimen, the attorney of the Doku family, made another application for the arrest of Abaravakov. Rejecting this request, the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office decided to take his deposition. On August 4, the expert review of the footage that allegedly shows Gülistan Doku jumping off a bridge was completed. According to the review by the National Criminal Bureau firm, what is seen in the footage is not Doku jumping off the Dinar Bridge, where she was last seen, but "residual pixels." "The effect on the bridge abutment is a pixel residue and definitely not a water column created by a person or object that falls into the water," the report concluded. In a statement released by the Tunceli Governor's Office on August 18, 2020, it was announced that the search efforts ongoing in the dam ended. Coordinated by the Governor's Office, search efforts started in the dam again on October 15. However, they ended again on November 24, 2020. |
(RT/SD)
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