27.07.2026 23:30
Former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, who was arrested in the Gülistan Doku investigation, along with his protection officer Şükrü Eroğlu and former police officer Gökhan Ertok, were arrested on six additional charges by the court in Erzurum. The Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office reported that the suspects used their public power and bureaucratic influence to interfere with judicial, digital, and medical systems. In simultaneous operations carried out in 16 provinces within the scope of the investigation, 18 law enforcement officers identified as engaging in suspicious activities were detained.
As part of the Gülistan Doku investigation, former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, protective police officer Şükrü Eroğlu, and police-dismissed Gökhan Ertok, who were previously arrested, have been re-arrested on different charges in the ongoing probe.
THEY GAVE NEW TESTIMONY AT ERZURUM COURTHOUSE
The three suspects, already detained on another charge, were brought to the Erzurum Courthouse by gendarmerie teams at noon. After giving new statements to the public prosecutor, Sonel, Eroğlu, and Ertok were referred to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace with a request for arrest.
Following interrogation by the judgeship, the suspects were re-arrested and sent to prison on charges of corrupting, destroying, or altering data in the information system, unlawful deprivation of liberty, aggravated robbery, and unlawfully obtaining personal data.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVESTIGATION
Munzur University student Gülistan Doku went missing in Tunceli on January 5, 2020. Within the scope of the investigation led by the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, some suspects, including then-Governor Tuncay Sonel's son Mustafa Türkay Sonel and protective police officer Şükrü Eroğlu, were detained on April 14, while Governor Sonel was taken into custody in the following days.
Former Governor Tuncay Sonel had previously been arrested on charges of "unlawfully obtaining personal data," "destroying or concealing official documents," and "concealing, altering, or destroying evidence of a crime," and was suspended from duty by the Ministry of Interior.
WHY IS THE CASE IN ERZURUM?
The Gülistan Doku investigation is primarily conducted by the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. However, according to Article 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK), the authority to investigate and prosecute personal crimes of governors and district governors belongs to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in the region where the Regional Court of Appeal is located. Therefore, the proceedings against Tuncay Sonel are continued in Erzurum.