The Justice Ministry has established seven new specialized departments, including a unit dedicated to investigating unsolved crimes, in a move aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and restoring public confidence in the judiciary.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced the restructuring, stating that the newly created divisions would enhance expertise across a broad spectrum of challenges, from terrorism and organized crime to digital offenses and disaster-related cases.
Central to the reform is the Directorate for the Investigation of Unsolved Crimes, designed to address long-standing cases that have left deep marks on the public conscience.
The new departments include units overseeing judicial evidence management, natural disasters and accidents, public order and digital security, organized and narcotics crimes, terrorism-related offenses and financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorism financing.
Gürlek said the objective is to build “a faster, more effective and more reliable justice system.”
The ministry has begun reexamining 122 homicide files dating from 2006 to 2026, encompassing cases that remain unsolved, were previously closed, or are still under judicial process.
Officials noted that a total of 278 unsolved murder cases were recorded during the same period.
Particular attention is being given to cases involving women and children that have generated sustained public scrutiny.
Among them is the disappearance of university student Gülistan Doku, whose case has been reopened and placed under active investigation.
Authorities have detained 15 individuals in connection with the probe, with 11 suspects remanded in custody pending trial. Gürlek said locating Doku’s body and identifying the burial site remain the priority.
In a case that has evolved significantly over six years, the son of the then-governor of Tunceli is accused of sexually assaulting Doku and allegedly killing her after she became pregnant. The governor himself is also accused of destroying evidence by allegedly deleting official records.
Other high-profile cases under renewed review include the death of Rabia Naz Vatan, an 11-year-old girl who died under suspicious circumstances in the Black Sea province of Giresun. Investigators are expected to draw on findings from a parliamentary inquiry commission.
The case of Rojin Kabaiş, a 21-year-old university student whose body was discovered after she went missing in the eastern province of Van, is also among those being reassessed.
