Türkiye has established a special unit to reexamine a series of cases that previously caused public outrage but were closed with any concrete decisions and remain unsolved, the justice minister said on April 21.
“We have formed a unit. All cases that were previously filed as unknown perpetrators or were closed with non-prosecution decisions are being reviewed one by one,” Gürlek told reporters in the capital Ankara.
The newly established team will assess whether there were any deficiencies or irregularities in the investigation and prosecution processes of these unresolved cases and will focus on any potential new evidence.
The team will examine cases that “created public sensitivity and outrage,” he said, adding, “We will pursue them with determination and meticulousness.”
His remarks came as the case of university student Gülistan Doku, who has been missing since Jan. 5, 2020, in the eastern province of Tunceli, was reopened and brought back under active investigation.
Within the scope of the renewed probe, 15 people were detained and 11 suspects were jailed pending trial.
Gürlek stated that the current priority is to locate Doku’s body and determine her burial site.
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.
The former governor, who has been in custody for three days, exercised his right to remain silent, local media reported on April 21. Among those arrested were the chief physician of a state hospital accused of deleting hospital records, and former police officer, allegedly involved in erasing GSM card data.
The justice minister earlier stated that the cases of Rabia Naz Vatan and Rojin Kabaiş will be reviewed by the same special unit.
Eleven-year-old Vatan was found injured in front of her home in the northern province of Giresun eight years ago and later lost her life in hospital.
The forensic medicine institute report concluded that her death resulted from multiple traumatic injuries and internal organ damage consistent with a fall from height. However, her family maintains that she was struck by a vehicle and left injured in front of their house.
The case had previously been closed with a non-prosecution decision.
Rabia Naz’s father, Şaban Vatan, described Gürlek’s remarks as hopeful and said he contacted the Justice Ministry, adding: “I hope that what is necessary will finally be done.”
In the other case, Kabaiş, a 21-year-old university student, disappeared on Sept. 27, 2024, and was found dead on a lakeshore on Oct. 15, 2024, in the eastern province of Van.
The case initially leaned toward suspected suicide. However, a separate forensic report published about a year later detected DNA belonging to two men on Kabaiş’s chest and vagina, significantly altering the course of the investigation.
Although Gürlek did not specify which additional cases will be included in the review, it is expected that more previously closed or unresolved cases will be reassessed in the coming days.
