Development regarding Umut Altaş, key figure in the Gülistan Doku investigation: He will show the location of her body
Following his detention in New York, USA, and subsequent transfer to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Pennsylvania, the first hearing for Umut Altaş is scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, at 9:00 a.m. local time. It was reported that Altaş will attend the hearing via remote connection from the ICE detention center where he is being held.
İHA
Umut Altaş, who was a fugitive in the Gülistan Doku investigation, has appeared before a judge in the United States. An unnamed lawyer who held a meeting with Altaş stated, "He expressed that he wants to be extradited to Turkey and that he will show the location where Gülistan's body is." he said.
A new phase is approaching in the investigation into Gülistan Doku, a second-year student in the Child Development Department at Munzur University who went missing in Tunceli on January 5, 2020. Fugitive suspect Umut Altaş, for whom an Interpol Red Notice was issued, is preparing to appear before a judge in the U.S. The hearing will take place on Tuesday.
"He said he wants to be extradited to Turkey"
An unnamed individual who works as a lawyer in the U.S. and visited Umut Altaş at the ICE detention center where he is being held provided information regarding the meeting in an exclusive statement to the İhlas News Agency.
The lawyer stated that Altaş might agree to extradition to Turkey during the hearing, saying, "They are keeping Altaş in a cell. In our meeting, he said he wants to be extradited to Turkey. He even expressed that he would meet with a prosecutor in Turkey regarding the death of Gülistan Doku and show the location where her body is located."
Umut Altaş, who is subject to an arrest warrant for extradition to Turkey, is expected to reveal his stance on the extradition process at Tuesday's hearing. The decision to emerge from the hearing is considered a potential turning point in the international dimension of the Gülistan Doku investigation.
Critical process in the Gülistan Doku investigation
Within the scope of the investigation into the Gülistan Doku case, which Turkey has been following closely for years, 12 of the 15 previously detained suspects were arrested, while judicial control measures were imposed on 3 individuals. A Red Notice was issued via Interpol for the fugitive suspect Umut Altaş. As a result of a joint operation conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), Interpol Washington, and the New York office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Altaş was captured and detained in the U.S. on May 22.
Altaş was also being tried in the U.S. on different charges
It was revealed that Altaş was also being tried in the U.S. on various other charges. Altaş was detained in the U.S. on December 1, 2025, and was charged with "resisting arrest," "using a false identity," "intentionally causing physical injury," "obstructing the functioning of government," and "second-degree harassment with physical contact."