Authorities in Turkey have detained 13 people in connection with the disappearance of a young Kurdish woman, reviving a six-year-old case that has attracted sustained criticism over the handling of the investigation, Deutsche Welle Turkish service reported.
The detentions were carried out across seven provinces as part of a probe into the January 5, 2020, disappearance of Gülistan Doku, 21, who went missing in the eastern province of Tunceli, where she was attending university.
Doku was last seen arguing with her boyfriend, Zaynal Abarakov, in front of a bakery. Later, images of her sitting on a bridge over a reservoir emerged.
Authorities said they were investigating the possibility that Doku had died by suicide after she was seen near a reservoir, but no body was found. Her family rejected that account and filed a complaint against her former boyfriend, Abarakov.
According to the Tunceli Public Prosecutor’s Office there was no indication that someone had jumped into the reservoir at the time Doku was said to have been seen at the bridge. Doku’s family argued that this was a clear indication that their daughter had not died by suicide and that Abarakov could be responsible for her disappearance.
The Justice for Gülistan Committee, a civil society organization that was monitoring her case, claimed the police had failed to carry out the duties of their job. According to the committee, the testimony of Doku’s friends were not taken for hours after they reported her missing.
One woman identified as Dilek said that after she spoke to law enforcement, the phrase “Gülistan said she would throw herself into the lake” was added to her testimony without her knowledge. Police records also indicate conflicting accounts about the day Doku disappeared.
The committee believes Abarakov’s stepfather, Engin Y., who is also a policeman, is involved in a coverup. Engin Y. was part of the investigation and was the first police officer to report that “an object had dropped into the lake” at the time Doku went missing. Engin Y.’s report informed the course of the investigation and the search of the lake.
According to Doku’s sister, Aygül Doku, her sister and Abarakov had a disagreement the day before she disappeared. Abarakov tried to force Doku into a car, but she managed to get away. Doku’s family demands that the authorities conduct a thorough investigation and determine what happened to the young woman.
The detentions came shortly after Doku’s father called for progress in the investigation in a recent media interview.
