Justice Minister Gürlek announces: 8 detained in 10-year-old cold case murder in Diyarbakır

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced that the investigation into the cold case murder of 22-year-old Mehmet Emin Karaalp, who was shot in the head and killed in the Çermik district of Diyarbakır on April 18, 2016, has been solved following a review of the case.

Gürlek stated that the incident was resolved 10 years later through work carried out under the coordination of the Department of Cold Case Investigations. Minister Gürlek reported that the case was initiated by the Çermik Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and continued by the Ergani Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

According to the statement, advanced molecular genetic examinations were conducted on cigarette butts found at the crime scene during the investigation. HTS records and narrowed base station analyses were also included in the file. As a result of these efforts, suspects were identified through DNA matches, communication records, and other evidence.

Gürlek announced that 8 people, who are considered to be connected to the murder and to have assisted the suspects, were taken into custody in an operation conducted by JASAT teams under the coordination of the Ergani Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

In his statement, Minister Gürlek said, "It has been demonstrated once again that the quest for justice of none of our victimized families will be left unanswered and that the passage of time will never provide security to perpetrators. All files from the past that have remained in the dark will be pursued with the same determination."

Gürlek thanked the Ergani and Çermik Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices, the Diyarbakır Provincial Gendarmerie Command, the Department of Cold Case Investigations, the Council of Forensic Medicine, and the JASAT teams for conducting the investigation.