19.05.2026 15:40
In the investigation concerning Gülistan Doku, who has been missing in Tunceli since January 5, 2020, three official vehicles used by former governor Tuncay Sonel and two vehicles belonging to the Tunceli Special Provincial Administration Secretariat were sent to Ankara for detailed forensic examination.
Ebru Cansu, one of Turkey's 3 female chief prosecutors appointed to Tunceli with the June 2024 decree of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), took the Gülistan Doku file off the shelf and began investigating after taking office. On the instruction of Chief Prosecutor Ebru Cansu, who handled the investigation from scratch, a special team was formed consisting of personnel from the Gendarmerie Crime Investigation Teams (JASAT), known as 'Gendarmerie Detectives'. All KGYS footage and PTS records from the city for the day before and the day Gülistan Doku disappeared were collected.
700 HOURS OF FOOTAGE ADDED TO THE FILE New images of Gülistan were also found, and a total of 70 KGYS cameras, 67 of which were on main arteries, along with an additional 700 hours of footage from security cameras, were added to the file. The images, which revealed where Gülistan came from to the cafe she visited to meet her boyfriend Zeinal Abarakov before disappearing, when she left the cafe and went to her teacher, were watched second by second by the chief prosecutor's office and the special team to investigate Gülistan's fate. Additionally, some suspects were added to the file, and HTS and PTS analyses were conducted. After the studies were completed, an operation was launched. In the file, which turned from a missing person case into a murder investigation, operations were carried out on April 14, 17, and 24 on suspicion of murder. 17 suspects were detained. A red notice was issued for Umut Altaş, who is a suspect in the file and is in the USA.
THE GOVERNOR'S SON AND THE SPECIAL PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION EMPLOYEE ARRESTED FOR 'PREMEDIATED MURDER' After their procedures at the gendarmerie, the suspects were sent to the courthouse. Tuncay Sonel's son Mustafa Türkay Sonel and Erdoğan Elaldı, who was identified as having had the last contact with Gülistan Doku through triangulated cell tower analysis and was a Special Provincial Administration employee at the time, were arrested for 'Premeditated murder'. Gülistan Doku's ex-boyfriend Zeinal Abarakov, Abarakov's father Engin Yücer and mother Cemile Yücer, fugitive suspect Umut Altaş's father Celal Altaş and mother Nurşen Arıkan, dismissed police officer Gökhan Ertok, and Şükrü Eroğlu, who was Tuncay Sonel's close bodyguard at the time, were arrested for 'Concealing and destroying crime evidence'. Ferhat Güven was arrested for 'Robbery' due to his actions against Gülistan Doku's sister Aygül Doku and sent to prison.
FORMER GOVERNOR TUNCAY SONEL ALSO IN CUSTODY Çağdaş Özdemir, the former chief physician of Tunceli State Hospital, who was detained in Bursa on charges of deleting Gülistan Doku's hospital records and brought to Tunceli Courthouse, was also arrested for 'Damaging, destroying, or concealing an official document'. Tuncay Sonel was arrested for 'Destroying, concealing, or altering crime evidence', 'Preventing, damaging, destroying, or altering data in the information system, unlawfully giving or obtaining personal data', and 'Damaging, destroying, or concealing an official document'. Suspects U.A., along with S.G. and S.Ö., who were responsible for cameras at Munzur University, were released under judicial supervision. Tunceli State Hospital IT staff Burçin Y. and Yücel E., who were detained on charges of 'Destroying and concealing evidence' for allegedly deleting hospital records, were released under judicial supervision.
7 DETAINEES TRANSFERRED FROM ELAZIĞ TO ERZURUM Within the scope of the investigation, Mustafa Türkay Sonel, Şükrü Eroğlu, Gökhan Ertok, Zeinal Abakarov, Engin Yücer, Cemile Yücer, and Erdoğan Elaldı, who were detained in Elazığ Closed Penal Institution, were transferred to Erzurum H-Type High Security Closed Prison. It was noted that the transfer decision was linked to the investigation conducted by the Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
GÜLİSTAN'S BODY BEING SEARCHED To find Gülistan Doku's lifeless body, upon the request of the Ministry of Justice and the instruction of the Ministry of Interior, Gendarmerie Search and Rescue (JAK) teams under the Gendarmerie General Command were dispatched to Tunceli with state-of-the-art devices. A special team of 30 people, consisting of JAK teams and JASAT units under the Tunceli Provincial Gendarmerie Command, continues their work under the coordination and participation of Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor Ebru Cansu. The teams are scanning designated areas using triangulated cell tower data and suspicious points, employing underground imaging devices. Through infrared signals sent by the devices, three-dimensional images of the subsurface are obtained, and suspicious areas are examined in detail.
5 VEHICLES USED IN THAT PERIOD UNDER INVESTIGATION In the Gülistan Doku investigation, a total of 5 vehicles—3 official cars used by former governor Tuncay Sonel during his tenure and 2 vehicles belonging to the Tunceli Special Provincial Administration General Secretariat—were loaded onto tow trucks and sent to a crime lab in Ankara for detailed forensic examination. It was stated that various evidence such as DNA samples, biological traces, fiber and contact residues, and chemical traces related to possible cleaning processes would be investigated in the vehicles. The DNA samples obtained will be compared with samples taken from Gülistan Doku's parents.