Background
Gülistan Doku was a 21-year-old child development student at Munzur University in Tunceli. She disappeared on 5 January 2020 and no trace of her has been found to date. The file has become one of the most debated missing-person cases in Turkey.
Her family and lawyers argued for years that the investigation was conducted inadequately.
What happened
Nothing was heard from Doku after 5 January 2020, and her family reported her missing the next day. City surveillance (MOBESE) footage showed her boarding a student vehicle at about 11:29 that day at a stop opposite the Tunceli Governor's Office; where she got off and where she went afterwards was never established.
Searches concentrated on the Uzunçayır Dam reservoir. Divers and search teams worked for weeks but found nothing. Suicide was initially considered among the possibilities.
Doku's family has repeatedly described the last day they heard from their daughter and the report filed the next day. They have asked for the gaps in the investigation file to be addressed.
Investigation
The investigation stalled for years. Her family and lawyers alleged that evidence had been concealed and that officials had covered up the case. Searches around the dam produced no result.
In April 2026 the Justice Ministry announced that the file had been re-examined and that detention orders had been issued for 13 people in seven provinces. Charges under examination were reported to include intentional killing, sexual assault and destroying evidence; these are allegations and none has been established by a court. A red notice was reported for a suspect said to be abroad. Later waves of operations reportedly brought the number of people in custody to 38, including people linked to alleged evidence tampering; none has been convicted.
Claims that hospital records were deleted and procedures targeting IT specialists were reported as new dimensions of the investigation. A person described as a secret witness is said to have shaped the process. All of this remains at the investigation stage and has not been confirmed by any court.
Where it stands today
Her body has not been found and there is no indictment or conviction. The investigation is run by the Tunceli and Erzurum chief prosecutors' offices. Statements by lawyers about new footage and claims are party statements, not court findings.
Her family and supporters have demanded the truth for years. Dark Location keeps this page in memory of a young woman who disappeared and to record the call for accountability.
The file is frequently cited in Turkish debates on disappearances and impunity. Her family and lawyers have kept up their applications for years, calling for the truth to emerge and those responsible to be tried, and developments are closely followed in the press.