Family of missing Gülistan Doku prevented by police, again

Missing university student Gülistan Doku’s mother Bedriye Doku, father Halit Doku and sister Aygül Doku have been in the capital city of Ankara for some time, making visits to political parties to raise concerns and publicity about her disappearance.

İstanbul

Family of missing Gülistan Doku prevented by police, again

Click to read the article in Turkish

The mother, father and elder sister of Gülistan Doku, who wanted to meet Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ, have been prevented again.

It has been 783 days as of today (February 24) since university student Gülistan Doku went missing in Turkey's eastern Dersim province.

Her mother Bedriye Doku, father Halit Doku and elder sister Aygül Doku have been in Ankara for some time, making visits to political parties to raise concerns and publicity about her disappearance.

After their request for a meeting with Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ was rejected yesterday on the grounds that "he was not available", the family staged a sit-in protest in front of the ministry building. The police intervened against the family and took them into custody.

The Doku family wanted to come in front of the Justice Ministry again today to express their demands for meeting the officials.

However, they were prevented by the police again. When they came to Atatürk Boulevard, the family were stopped by the police.

In a message on her social media account, elder sister Aygül Doku has said, "We wanted to go to the Ministry of Justice and talk about our trouble. The police came up against us today, too. The female police officer walked up to me, saying, 'I lead 500 people, you cannot go.' I am calling out from here: Who will bring this atrocity to an end now?"

Adalet Bakanlığıyla görüşmek istediğimiz için polis üstümüze yürüyor nerdesin @bybekirbozdag pic.twitter.com/E1srOLa4iB
— Aygül Doku GÜLİSTAN'IN ablası (@Ayguldoku) February 24, 2022

The family of Gülistan Doku have recently been in the capital city of Ankara, attending the Parliamentary weekly group meetings of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), İYİ Party and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) over the past two days. The family also met HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan and İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener yesterday.

The HDP submitted a Parliamentary inquiry to the Speaker's Office yesterday, requesting that the fate and whereabouts of Gülistan Doku be investigated by establishing a Parliamentary Investigation Commission.

While the Parliamentary inquiry was supported by the CHP and İYİ Party as well, it was rejected by the votes of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) MPs.

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)