78 questions were asked to former governor Tuncay Sonel, and he gave the same answer to all of them.

22.04.2026 14:23

In the investigation conducted by the Erzurum Republic Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, who was arrested, was asked 78 critical questions regarding the Gülistan Doku file. Sonel was asked "why the cameras at point K were changed and who gave the instruction to delete them." Sonel responded to this and the other 78 questions within the framework of "slander, fabrication, and character assassination."

On January 5, 2020, a new phase was reached in the investigation conducted regarding the disappearance of Gülistan Doku. The Erzurum Republic Chief Public Prosecutor's Office subjected Tuncay Sonel, the former Governor of Tunceli who was at the center of the allegations, to a comprehensive interrogation, bringing the most critical aspects of the file to the table.

78 QUESTIONS ASKED, HE GAVE THE SAME ANSWER

78 questions were asked to Tuncay Sonel during the prosecutor's interrogation. The questions covered the darkest points of the file, ranging from the camera and hospital records allegedly deleted from the SIM card sent for examination in an irregular manner, to serious allegations about his son Mustafa Türkay Sonel, and the role of protection police officer Şükrü Eroğlu.

According to the minutes, Sonel was asked detailed questions about Gülistan Doku's family, close circle, his son Mustafa Türkay Sonel, protection police officer Şükrü Eroğlu, Gökhan Ertok, Erdoğan Elaldı, Ferhat Güven, Celal Altaş, Songül Acar, and many others mentioned in the file during the period of her disappearance. The severity and scope of the questions revealed that the investigation had now deepened not only in the dimension of the missing person case but also along the axis of suspicion of evidence tampering and cover-up.

Sonel responded by characterizing all the accusations as "slander, fabrication, and character assassination."

After his interrogation, Sonel was arrested by the court he was brought before for the crimes of "destroying, concealing evidence of crime, damaging data in the information system, unlawfully obtaining personal data, damaging, destroying official documents, damaging, destroying official documents."

HE CONFESSED TO THE SIM CARD SCANDAL

One of the most striking topics of the interrogation was the sending of Gülistan Doku's SIM card to Gökhan Ertok in Ankara instead of to the official investigative authorities. Tuncay Sonel openly admitted that he sent the SIM card to Gökhan Ertok via Şükrü Eroğlu. His reasons were "to reach the missing girl," "to detect the last signal," and "to get a result as soon as possible."

However, the prosecutor's questions became even harsher here. Because, according to the statement minutes, the investigative authority questioned why a governor would have a material that could constitute direct evidence in a judicial case examined outside official procedure. Sonel explained this as a "human reflex," "the sister's crying and wailing." Nevertheless, the question of why the SIM card was not handed over to the prosecutor's office or police cyber units remained one of the most critical knots in the file.

HE SAID "I DON'T KNOW" TO THE EVIDENCE BEING SENT BY BUS

Another shocking topic in the file was the allegation that the SIM card was sent to Ankara via a bus company instead of through official cargo or judicial delivery chain. During the interrogation, recalling the statements of Gökhan Ertok and Şükrü Eroğlu, it was asked why such a critical material was dispatched using a method that gave the impression of being off the record. Sonel said he did not know about this part; he also claimed he had no information about the return process. The prosecutor's office did not receive an answer from Sonel regarding why an official record chain was not established for the acquisition, protection, and transportation of the evidence.

THE "BLACK BOX ŞÜKRÜ EROĞLU" DEBATE

One of the names that attracted the most attention throughout the interrogation was Şükrü Eroğlu, the protection police officer of the period. During the statements, the description of "the governor's black box" for Şükrü Eroğlu was brought up. Based on the statements of Gökhan Ertok and Ferhat Güven, Sonel was asked whether Şükrü Eroğlu represented not just a protection police officer but a much closer and more critical link.

Tuncay Sonel rejected this description. He defended that his relationship with Şükrü Eroğlu was only within the framework of duty. However, the set of questions in the interrogation showed that Şükrü Eroğlu's name was mentioned in many critical areas, from the sending of the SIM card to the transfer of location information, from cash flow to the follow-up of private affairs. Regarding the file, Şükrü Eroğlu's role is evaluated as being far beyond that of an ordinary protection police officer.

MONEY TRAFFIC BETWEEN TUNCAY SONEL AND GÖKHAN ERTOK

Another topic highlighted by the prosecutor's office was the money transfers made to Gökhan Ertok. During the interrogation, it was reminded that, according to MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board) movements, money transfers sent piecemeal via Şükrü Eroğlu were detected. Sonel explained these payments as "pocket money," "aid," "he might have had a technical need."

The investigative authority directly questioned why money was transferred from a personal account to a person with whom it was said they had only met a few times within the scope of social media and technical support. The answer Sonel gave to the question of why the official budget was not used for an official public job gave the appearance of a defense far from dispelling the suspicions in the file.

"WHOSE INSTRUCTION WERE THE CAMERA RECORDS DELETED UNDER?"

The security camera records, which have been debated for years in the Gülistan Doku file, were also at the center of the interrogation. The prosecutor's office asked Sonel about the allegations of why the cameras at K points were changed, why records were not taken, and why changes were made despite no malfunction appearing in official records. Sonel said he had no information on this matter and that the relevant party was the provincial police department.

Even more striking was that, despite it being understood in the National Criminal Bureau examination that the camera viewing the bridge was active, the opposite had been stated in a previously prepared report by the police. This contradiction was directly posed to Sonel during the interrogation. The prosecutor's office explicitly asked, "Why were the records deleted, who gave the instruction, what was on those records?" Sonel also denied this accusation.

HOSPITAL RECORDS WERE AT THE CENTER OF THE PROSECUTOR'S INTERROGATION

One of the most serious topics in the interrogation was the hospital admission record dated December 31, 2019, stated to belong to Gülistan Doku. The fact that this record, seen in the POLNET query, was not found in the hospital database and that one of the technical firms made an assessment that it "could have been professionally and intentionally deleted" was included in the prosecutor's questions.

Sonel was explicitly asked whether he had any information or instruction regarding the deletion of this record. Sonel said he had not spoken with either the chief physician or anyone else on this matter and that he knew the pregnancy record allegations only as "rumors talked about among the public." However, the very fact that the prosecutor's office asked this question showed that suspicions about the hospital data had entered the official interrogation text.

SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS ABOUT HIS SON MUSTAFA TÜRKAY SONEL

The most shocking part of the interrogation was formed by the allegations about Tuncay Sonel's son, Mustafa Türkay Sonel. The prosecutor's office asked one by one about the statements alleging that he had a relationship with Gülistan Doku, that there was a pregnancy claim, that he was in the area on the day of the incident, that he carried a weapon, and even, according to some witness accounts, that he said "I shot someone."

Tuncay Sonel vehemently denied all these allegations using very harsh expressions. He stated that he "does not have the slightest doubt about his son." He defended that Mustafa Türkay Sonel did not know Gülistan Doku, was a young man who had finished high school and was preparing for university entrance exams, and that all the narratives against him were "fabrication" and "slander." However, he argued that during the interrogation, these allegations were not presented as mere gossip but as elements entered into the file with witness and secret witness statements.

"MY SON WOULDN'T HURT EVEN AN ANT" DEFENSE

One of the defenses Tuncay Sonel repeated most during the interrogation was his emphasis that his son would not show a tendency for violence. In the face of allegations of weapons, vehicles, pregnancy, and murder directed at Mustafa Türkay Sonel, Sonel defended himself with the words "he wouldn't hurt even an ant," "he is a very conscientious child," and "he called me asking who would look after his birds."

However, the questions posed by the prosecution were too specific to be dismissed with merely a character defense. The allegation of carrying a weapon in the vehicle, the description of a Glock-like pistol, magazines and bullets, base station data, and witness narratives indicated that the suspicions centered on his son were being taken systematically seriously in the file.

"THE GOVERNOR PERSONALLY LOOKED AT THE BODY AND SAID IT'S NOT GÜLİSTAN" QUESTION

One of the most striking parts of the investigation was what happened after a female body was found. Reminding Şükrü Eroğlu's statement, Tuncay Sonel was asked about the allegation that he went to the scene, looked at the body, and said, "It's not Gülistan." Sonel explained that they went to the scene by helicopter and that the general opinion there was that it was the body of another person.

This section brought back to the forefront the question debated in the file: "Why was a governor so active right in the middle of a judicial incident?" Because the prosecution's questions were not only about going to the scene but also about how and under what authority assessments that could have identification characteristics were made.

WAS A "SUICIDE" PERCEPTION CREATED?

Based on Songül Acar's statements, the prosecution also asked Sonel about the allegations that after Gülistan Doku's disappearance, the incident was constantly kept within the axis of the dam and suicide. Witness statements included the claim that "The governor was saying this girl committed suicide and is in the dam." Sonel denied this; he argued that the searches continued only due to the family's insistence.

Nevertheless, other questions during the interrogation strengthened the suspicions on this matter. Despite finding some items stated to belong to Gülistan at the dam, the body not being found, the assessments of expert teams that "she is not in the dam," and the extension of searches despite this were directly questioned by the prosecution.

SECRET WITNESS ALLEGATIONS: WAS THE BODY BURIED?

One of the heaviest parts of the interrogation came through the narratives of the secret witness "February." The prosecution directly asked about the allegation that Mustafa Türkay Sonel called his father or the protection police saying he had killed someone, and then Gülistan Doku's body was transported by a vehicle belonging to the governorate and buried on the Pertek-Koçpınar line.

Tuncay Sonel rejected this narrative with the words "very ugly," "despicable slander." However, the fact that such a heavy scenario had entered the interrogation text revealed the gravity of the point the investigation had reached. The file is now no longer just about a missing person; it is progressing in a multi-layered manner around possibilities of murder, evidence destruction, and cover-up.

VEHICLE, DETAILED CLEANING, AND EVIDENCE DESTRUCTION ALLEGATION

The vehicle with license plate 06 SNL 10, a black BMW, also had a special place in the interrogation. The prosecution asked Sonel about the allegation that this vehicle was put through a detailed cleaning at a car wash center in Elazığ for the purpose of destroying criminal evidence. Sonel also denied this allegation; he said the vehicle could have gone to and from his wife's hometown Elazığ and might have had a normal wash.

However, the investigation authorities persistently focused on this vehicle. Because the vehicle, which is stated to have been used by his son Mustafa Türkay Sonel, is kept at the center of the file due to both its use and the allegations of base station data and movements on the day of the incident and afterwards.

THE LINE OF DEFENSE: OFFICIAL DUTY CRIME, JURISDICTION LIES WITH THE COURT OF CASSATION

In the final section of the statement record, his defense attorney, Lawyer Tüncay Kılınboz, also made a notable defense. Attorney Kılınboz argued that the acts attributed in the file should be evaluated within the scope of the governorship duty, and therefore, not the Erzurum Republic Chief Public Prosecutor's Office but the Republic Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation should be authorized.

Furthermore, the defense emphasized that the SIM card was not the original card from the day of the incident but a card reissued later from the GSM operator. The defense attorney argued that the legal value of the evidence tampering allegation built around the SIM card was debatable. Nevertheless, the prosecution's comprehensive 78-question interrogation showed that the investigation authorities were working on a suspicion picture far beyond the framework drawn by the defense.

WHY WAS THE FILE SHAKEN AGAIN?

This statement record shows that for the first time, the allegations that have been discussed piecemeal in the public for years in the Gülistan Doku file were reflected in an official interrogation text with this intensity and harshness. The irregular sending of the SIM card, the suspicion that camera and hospital records were deleted, the consecutive mentions of names around the governorate in the file, and the heavy allegations against Mustafa Türkay Sonel; all moved the file to a completely different point.

Tuncay Sonel denied all accusations, saying that a "lynching," "fabrication," and "character assassination" was carried out against him and his family. However, the 78 questions posed by the prosecution revealed that a person who has held the state's most critical positions is now being interrogated under much harsher and much more concrete suspicion headings.

EYES ARE NOW ON THE NEXT STEP OF THE INVESTIGATION

The interrogation in Erzurum is not read merely as a statement-taking procedure in the Gülistan Doku file. This record clearly shows which evidence headings the investigation is focusing on, which names it is keeping at the center, and which contradictions it is trying to resolve.

In the upcoming process, it is expected that technical and forensic examinations regarding the SIM card chain, camera hard disks, hospital records, money movements, hotel and travel organizations, and witness and secret witness narratives will determine the fate of the file. In the Gülistan Doku file, every new statement, every new report, and every new contradiction now contributes to lifting the fog over this file that has remained in the dark for years.