It's been 1,000 days since Gülistan Doku went missing
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Gülistan Doku, a university student in Dersim, southeastern Türkiye, went missing on January 5, 2020.
The authorities have failed to shed light on the case, as neither Doku, who was 21 years old at the time of her disappearance, was found, nor those responsible for her disappearance have been identified.
Her former boyfriend and the sole suspect, Zainal A., was detained several times but the case has not progressed.
Most recently, camera footage showing the area where Doku's phone signal was last detected was sent to a private forensic laboratory for inspection in late June.
The attorney of the Doku family had said the result of the investigation could change the course of the investigation.
What happened?University student Gülistan Doku did not return to the 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. The Doku family and rights advocates have long been demanding legal action against Zeynal Abarakov, who had a row with Doku a day before her disappearance. There is criticism of the lack of effective investigation because Abarakov's stepfather is a police officer. As part of this investigation, Abarakov was detained on March 17. After giving his statement, Abarakov was released from detention on probation the same day. |
(EMK/VK)