14.04.2026 15:39
While the case file was reopened in the investigation of Gülistan Doku, who has been missing in Tunceli since 2020, the family came to the courthouse. Speaking in front of the courthouse, her sister Aygül Doku said, 'Whatever happened to us was brought by the then governor Tuncay Sonel. The murderer of our daughter is Mustafa Türkay Sonel, the son of the then governor Tuncay Sonel. I want all of Turkey to know this.'
Ebru Cansu, one of Turkey's three female chief prosecutors appointed to Tunceli by the June 2024 decree of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), requested the establishment of a special team in the investigation conducted regarding Gülistan Doku, who has been missing since January 5, 2020. In the investigation, all KGYS footage and PTS records from the city for the day before Doku's disappearance and the day she disappeared were re-collected. New footage belonging to Gülistan was also found, and an additional 700 hours of footage from a total of 70 KGYS, 67 of which are main arteries, and security cameras were added to the file.
13 PEOPLE DETAINED In the investigation, a simultaneous operation was carried out in 7 provinces during the night hours for the capture of 13 suspects on suspicion of murder. In the operation, 13 people, including Doku's boyfriend Zeinal Abakarov and Mustafa Türkay Sonel, the son of the then Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, were detained.
"THE PERCEPTION THAT GÜLİSTAN COMMITTED SUICIDE WAS CREATED" Ali Çimen, the lawyer of the Doku family, stated that a perception was created that Gülistan committed suicide in the dam lake, saying, "As you know, searches were conducted here by divers. Even a small note paper thrown into the water by Gülistan had been found. Gülistan was about 1.60 meters tall, weighed 55-60 kilograms, was wearing a parka, and had a backpack on her back. It was clearly evident that Gülistan was not in the dam lake. However, the perception that Gülistan committed suicide was created. And it emerged that this perception was created by a high-level public official. The result of this cover-up, which developed for personal reasons, meaning to cover up a crime committed by their own family members, was that unnecessary searches were conducted in the dam lake, and the family also stayed here for 220 days. At this stage we have reached, our file has seen 3 chief prosecutors. An effective investigation has begun in our file with our chief prosecutor. From this stage on, we will not debate which perpetrator committed which act. The chief prosecutor's office is now doing what is necessary. We are here today more to support them. At this stage, we can say this as an expectation: we see that the high-level public official has still not been detained. For the perpetrators to continue to be prosecuted, we expect him to be detained as well."
"THEY SAID 'YOUR DAUGHTER IS NOT HERE,' THEY INSISTENTLY DIRECTED US THERE" Gülistan Doku's mother Bedriye and father Halit Doku came to the Tunceli Republic Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Bedriye Doku, entering the courthouse building with tears, said, "We will go to the prosecutor. I thank our Minister of Justice, our esteemed Chief Prosecutor, the judge, the police, and the gendarmerie very much. Let women no longer die, let Gülistans, students no longer die. The gendarmes, the police, wasn't it a pity for them too? In that snow and winter, wasn't it a pity for so many people? They searched for days. Wasn't it a pity, a sin? They would say, 'Aunt, your daughter is not here.' They insistently directed us there."
Father Halit Doku said, "Justice has been served. We believe in justice. Because we trusted justice, justice has been served. I thank everyone."
"WE HAVE BEEN SEEKING JUSTICE FOR 7 YEARS" Gülistan's older sister Aygül Doku and her family came to the Tunceli Courthouse to follow the latest developments. Making statements here, Aygül Doku said, "Tuncay Sonel took our wounded family there and said to us, 'Mourn, your daughter committed suicide.' At the beginning of the bridge, every time the diver brothers came out, they would say, 'Your daughter is not here'; while he said, 'Believe me. I swear on my two children, I will give you your daughter's body.' Yesterday, Turkey once again saw firsthand an example of great cruelty, evil, and savagery. For 7 years, they took our own daughter from us, they deceived us. As if watching a theater, as if watching a movie, they watched us before the eyes of the world. Our Chief Prosecutor Ebru Cansu is making history. We do not want this to be covered up. We have been seeking justice for 7 years. If you had not made Gülistan's voice heard, if women had not said, 'Where is Gülistan Doku,' if Chief Prosecutor Ebru Cansu had not been there, it would have remained as 'Gülistan committed suicide.' This is a disgrace."
"OUR DAUGHTER'S KILLER IS THE SON OF THE THEN GOVERNOR" Older sister Aygül Doku said, "I have great respect for our chief prosecutor's work, but one of the people who should be detained right now is the then governor Tuncay Sonel. Whatever happened to us was brought upon us by the then governor Tuncay Sonel. Our daughter's killer is Mustafa Türkay Sonel, the son of the then governor Tuncay Sonel. I want all of Turkey to know this. We do not want this to be covered up."
Mother Bedriye Doku said, "I want my daughter's body. I will not leave here without receiving her body."
"THE FAMILY NEVER LOST HOPE FOR THEIR DAUGHTER" Lawyer Çimen, expressing that they expect the suspects detained in the investigation to be arrested, said, "As you know, we are in the 7th year of our file. At this stage we have reached, an effective investigation has begun. Detention orders were issued for over 13 people, and we evaluate that these detention orders were made with the aim of arrest. Probably all of them will be arrested. Here, it is seen that the high-level public official is currently outside the case. That is, we think he should also be detained and arrested as soon as possible. Because, if the perpetrators think that the high-level public official has not been detained, a hope of 'can we save ourselves' may arise there. Therefore, the high-level public official must be detained and arrested as soon as possible. The Gülistan Doku investigation is the symbolic file of femicide. During these 7 years, women's organizations, press workers really showed very special interest and follow-up in our file. In this sense, the lack of an effective investigation in the Gülistan Doku file was also hurting the sense of justice. Women knew that they would not be at ease unless the Gülistan Doku file was resolved. Because at any moment, there could be a new Gülistan. In this regard, conducting an effective investigation in Gülistan's file will strengthen the belief that violence against women incidents will also be effectively investigated. In this respect, the family's resistance here, as you know, they stayed here for 220 days in snow and winter. They never lost hope for their daughter."They put up a very strong resistance. The press also embraced this. Women's organizations also embraced this. Therefore, this is not the end of our struggle, it is a beginning. We demand that an effective investigation be continued and the perpetrators be arrested," she said.
THE BREAKING POINT OF THE FILE: A NOTE, A WITNESS The most striking breakthrough in the Gülistan Doku investigation conducted by the Tunceli Republic Chief Public Prosecutor's Office occurred years later with two consecutive developments. The first was the anonymous note, believed to be typed on a typewriter, left in front of the family's lawyer's office in 2022. That note recorded that Gülistan Doku had a relationship with Mustafa Türkay Sonel, the son of the then Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel. The second major breakthrough was the statements of the secret witness who testified under the code name "February" in 2025. These two developments fundamentally changed the direction of the investigation that began with the missing person report.