Abdulhakim Kartal (26) disappeared on Aug. 16, 1991 in Batman. Born in Gercüş, Kartal was a taxi driver, married with two children living in Batman. On the day of his disappearance, two individuals approached the taxi he was driving as customers, and he took them and drove away. He did not come home that night and was not heard from again, nor were his remains found for certain.

About two weeks later, the police informed his family that his car was found in a private parking lot in Antalya with a fake Bingöl license plate. Later the family was also informed that an unidentified dead body had been found in Antalya. The family however, was unable to identify the body and Kartal was never heard from again. The family applied to the Batman branch of Human Rights Association for legal aid on Jan. 27, 2000.