Gülistan Doku probe: two divers arrested
RastinewsTwo underwater divers have been arrested on suspicion of tampering with evidence in the investigation into Gülistan Doku, a Munzur University student who has been missing in Dersim since January 5, 2020.
The Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which is running the investigation, examined statements from divers who claimed to have found a prescription issued in Gülistan Doku's name and a pair of scissors during searches of the reservoir. An expert report found it physically impossible for the paper items to have remained intact at a depth of 14 meters given the current.
"The File Is Just Beginning"
Ali Çimen, the Doku family's lawyer, said the investigation is widening, adding that action has so far been taken against 19 of the 108 people named on a "cover-up list" the family compiled.
Çimen said the Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's referral document included findings that public authority had been used unlawfully on the instructions of former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, and that dismissed police officers had acted like an illegal organization.
Where the Investigation Stands
A total of 25 people have been arrested, including former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel and his family, former police officers, public officials, and Gülistan Doku's boyfriend, Zeinal Abakarov.
Suspect Umut Altaş was detained in the United States.
Two underwater divers were sent to prison on charges of "destroying evidence of a crime" over the suspicious evidence found in the reservoir.