Per İHD’s 2011 report on enforced disappearances and Birgün Newspaper’s article that was published on 10th March 2011, Mehmet Günkan was the mukhtar of the Akçayurt village located in the Hani district of Diyarbakır. After the village was evacuated and partially burned down during a military raid in July 1994, he moved to Adana with his family. On 18th August 1994, he returned to the village for an administrative proceeding. He was last seen by villagers as he was put inside a helicopter by soldiers. His son applied to authorities, all to no avail. In 2001, two witnesses came forward and stated that they saw him being thrown out of the helicopter sometime after it took off. The efforts of the family were fruitless yet again. In 2009, a badly deteriorated body was discovered and tested for DNA match with the Günkan family.

In 2009, the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office (file no. 2009/2646) and the Military Prosecutor of the 7th Corps Command launched an investigation.