14.04.2026 07:50
Following Justice Minister Akın Gürlek's instruction to 'break the perception that the powerful are untouchable,' a historic breakthrough occurred in the Gülistan Doku file. Investigation files regarding Doku, who has been missing for 6 years, were taken off the shelf, an operation was launched in 7 provinces, and detention orders were issued for 13 people on suspicion of murder. After Gülistan's boyfriend Zeinal Abakarov and Mustafa Türkay, the son of then Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, his bodyguard Şükrü Eroğlu was detained in İzmir.
The instruction of Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, "We will shatter the perception that the powerful are untouchable" and "Proceed with the file, wherever it leads," has created a historic turning point in the Gülistan Doku case, which has wounded the public conscience for years. The investigation, which had been recorded as a missing person case since 2020 and was thought to have been shelved as an unsolved mystery, has been deepened and the button has finally been pressed.
In the investigation, which was like searching for a needle in a haystack, action was taken based on suspicion of murder, going beyond the claims that Gülistan Doku was missing. A simultaneous operation was carried out in Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Elazığ, and İzmir, centered in Tunceli. 13 suspects, including Gülistan's boyfriend Zeinal Abakarov, Mustafa Türkay Sonel (the son of the then Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel), and his bodyguard Şükrü Eroğlu, were detained.
SIMULTANEOUS OPERATION IN 6 PROVINCES CENTERED IN TUNCELI
The Gülistan Doku investigation, long seen as a missing young girl case, has now become the center of much more serious allegations with today's operation. In the investigation coordinated by the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, not a disappearance incident but a murder incident, and additionally, evidence tampering, deletion of digital traces, use of public influence, and a possible organized cover-up chain were placed under scrutiny. In this context, an operation was launched based on arrest warrants for a total of 13 names.
The scope of the operation revealed that the case is now being evaluated not within a narrow circle but within a multi-layered network of suspicion. According to the investigation file, the suspects include not only people from Gülistan's circle but also public officials and individuals with public connections. The findings obtained show that the case has gone far beyond an ordinary missing person investigation.
FROM A MISSING PERSON FILE TO SUSPICIONS OF MURDER AND COVER-UP
Gülistan Doku disappeared on January 5, 2020. It was determined that she last left her teacher's house that day, met with her boyfriend Zeinal Abakarov, and then boarded a minibus heading towards Munzur University. In the initial investigation phase, HTS records, MOBESE footage, and witness statements were examined. It was found that the last signal was received in the Sarı Saltuk Viaduct-Dinar Bridge line. Despite intensive searches at the Uzunçayır Dam, no trace of Gülistan was found.
However, over the years, new statements, technical data, and expert examinations entered into the file brought to the agenda a picture much darker and involving organized crime beyond the possibility of suicide. Particularly, vehicle movements on the day of the incident and afterwards, phone signals, deleted social media data, and the suspicious connections and activities of some public officials detected in the context of the file completely changed the course of the investigation.
THE NAME OF THE THEN GOVERNOR'S SON IS AT THE CENTER OF THE FILE
One of the most striking breaking points in the file was an anonymous note left for the family's lawyer. This note explicitly mentioned the name of Mustafa Türkay Sonel, the son of the then Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel. Subsequent examinations revealed that Mustafa Türkay Sonel's vehicle movements on the day and night of the incident, which were incompatible with the normal flow, became the focus of suspicion.
SIM CARD, DIGITAL ACTIVITY SHOOK THE FILE
One of the most shocking aspects of the investigation was the technical examinations conducted regarding the phone line and social media accounts belonging to Gülistan Doku. The scope of the investigation was expanded by evaluating phone traffic, base station records, and money transfers together. Prosecution sources state that the digital evidence aspect has become one of the most critical headings of the file.
SECRET WITNESS STATEMENTS CHANGED THE COURSE OF THE FILE
The secret witness statement that recently entered the file changed, and indeed clarified, the direction of the investigation. The prosecution deepened the investigation further based on these findings confirming the secret witness accounts.
BOYFRIEND'S MESSAGES AND CONTRADICTORY BEHAVIORS
In the file, the activities of Gülistan's boyfriend, Zeinal Abakarov, are a separate heading. According to the investigation documents, it was found that some correspondences on Zeinal's phone had been deleted, while the messages he sent via social media after Gülistan's disappearance were found to be striking. These messages were seen to contain expressions giving the impression that he knew something had happened to Gülistan.
Moreover, it was understood that not only Zeinal but also some people around him gave contradictory statements on the night of the incident and afterwards, that some camera footage was never obtained or was obtained incompletely, and that an attempt was made to complicate the file. Therefore, the ongoing investigation now focuses not only on finding a missing person but on reconstructing the chain of evidence from start to finish.
"THE INVISIBLE CIRCLE FORMED AROUND THE FAMILY"
Another notable element in the file is the statements that Gülistan Doku's family was virtually put under close surveillance after the incident. According to some witness accounts, certain public officials were assigned around the family, contacts with the family were controlled, and interventions extending to social media posts occurred.
It was even determined that the SIM card was taken from the family, it was claimed to have been handed over to the prosecution, but this did not develop as such in the official process. All these developments further magnified the question of why the investigation produced no results for years. The suspicion formed in the public opinion, "Was the file deliberately slowed down?" was seriously considered in light of the new findings.
700 HOURS OF NEW FOOTAGE AND NEW SUSPECTS ENTERING THE FILE
Most recently, 700 hours of new MOBESE footage was included in the investigation file. These records, which were not included in the file or were examined limitedly in the early years, were taken up for detailed examination by JASAT and expert teams. Furthermore, based on HTS records, narrowed base station studies, and new technical reports, the day of the incident was reconstructed minute by minute.
According to prosecution sources, many details that were previously overlooked or covered up were brought back to the agenda thanks to these new technical examinations. That is why the recent operation in 6 provinces is not just an arrest move; it is one of the clearest steps taken to unravel the darkness that has accumulated for years.
CLEAR MESSAGE FROM MINISTER GÜRLEK: IF A PUBLIC OFFICIAL IS INVOLVED, ACTION MUST BE TAKEN AGAINST THEM TOO
The Gülistan Doku file is no longer seen as only concerning the fate of a missing university student. This investigation is also progressing as an attitude that will show how determined justice in Turkey will be against powerful names, influence networks, and suspects with public connections.
Minister Gürlek's statement "Wherever it leads" carries significant political and legal meaning precisely for this reason.
Ankara circles are discussing that Justice Minister Gürlek said, "We will break the perception that the powerful are untouchable," demanded the investigation be carried through to the end, and gave the instruction, "If public officials are involved, action should be taken against public officials as well." In Ankara circles, this approach is considered a critical threshold for all cases.
The operation following this message shows that the state will now handle the file much more harshly and directly. Particularly, bringing allegations related to public officials onto the investigation ground seems set to end the long-standing debates about a "protective shield" in the case.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
No news has been received from Gülistan Doku, a university student in Tunceli, since January 5, 2020. Her family came to the city from their hometown Diyarbakır immediately after her disappearance and filed a missing person report with the police on January 6.
Teams that sprang into action after the report contacted Doku's last-seen friends and tried to trace her through cell phone signals. As a result of the examinations, search efforts concentrated particularly around the Uzunçayır Dam Lake.
Within the scope of search activities at the dam, teams conducted comprehensive work both underwater and on the surface for 187 days. However, despite all efforts, no findings were reached, and the work was terminated.
In the later stages of the process, the family met with the then Minister of Interior, Süleyman Soylu. Following the meeting, it was decided to drain a section of the dam lake. Searches restarted on August 6 with 17 teams and continued non-stop for 13 days. Yet, this intense effort also yielded no results, and the work was completed on August 18.
Although authorities began search efforts once more on October 15, no trace of Gülistan Doku was found. Despite the years that have passed, Gülistan Doku's fate remains unknown, while her family and the public await the clarification of the incident. The question marks in the file have still not been answered.