There is a new development in the case regarding the disappearance of Dersim university student Gülistan Doku who has not been heard from since 5 January 2020.

According to a news published by the Özgür Dersim newspaper, Cemile Yücer, the mother of Zainal Abarakov, the main suspect in the disappearance of Doku, recently wrote a petition to the Presidential Communications Center (CIMER) and demanded the removal of the judicial control conditions imposed on them because she wanted to go abroad.

In the petition, Yücer said: “I sent my son to Russia, with the knowledge of the governor and authorities, before his name was circulated on social media. When the news started to appear in the media, our esteemed Minister of Interior asked us to get our son back to Turkey, which we did. Please, Mr. President, lift our ban on going abroad as we want to leave this country.”

Speaking about Cemile Yücer's petition to CIMER, the President of Dersim Bar Association, who is involved in the case, lawyer Kenan Çetin, said: "Zainal's mother, Cemile, sent a petition demanding to 'remove the judicial control measures' to CIMER. When the file is examined, we see that there is no judicial control decision in the file. This means that an administrative ban has been made. In other words, they are prohibited from going abroad. What is of interest in this article is the information given by Zainal's family. We now know from the application made to CIMER that Zainal went to Russia on specific dates without this being reflected in the media. The family also stated that they were given permission by the authorities to send their son abroad. Afterwards, the Ministry of Interior said that this could cause problems and the family called their son back to Turkey."

Application to the ECHR

Stating that Zainal Abakarov's phone was not confiscated and that no criminal investigation was carried out in his home, lawyer Çetin said: "We have been saying this from the beginning: Zainal is a suspect. Why weren't his phone and computer confiscated? Why was there no criminal investigation in his home? Why was there no examination on his person as well as on his car? This file needs to be reconsidered. There is another suspect in it, the suspect's father who works for the police. We had a request that the law enforcement agency that will conduct the investigation be given to the gendarmerie. Now, the family's lawyer is preparing to apply to the European Court of Human Rights, as an effective investigation has not been carried out. It is possible for the file to go to the Constitutional Court. Now new information has come to the surface."