01.05.2026 02:05
Upon the instruction of the Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, DNA samples were taken from Gülistan Doku's parents. The collected samples will be compared with the DNA samples found in the car of former governor Tuncay Sonel's son.
A new development has occurred in the investigation concerning Gülistan Doku, a second-year student in the Child Development Department at Munzur University, who has been missing in Tunceli since January 5, 2020.
DNA SAMPLES WILL BE COMPARED The Gülistan Doku investigation is being jointly conducted and coordinated by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices of two provinces. One is Tunceli, where the incidents took place, and the other is Erzurum, where former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel is being tried due to legal regulations. Upon the instruction of the Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, DNA samples were taken from Gülistan Doku's mother and father. The samples taken will be compared with the DNA samples from the car of Tuncay Sonel's son, Mustafa Türkay Sonel, who is under arrest.
Former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel MESSAGES BETWEEN FUGITIVE UMUT ALTAŞ AND HIS FATHER REVEALED Meanwhile, WhatsApp conversations between fugitive Umut Altaş, who is wanted with a red notice in the Gülistan Doku investigation, and his father Celal Altaş, who is under arrest, have emerged. It has been revealed that the father Altaş, who is in custody, did not inform the gendarmerie about the messages in which his son threatened him. It emerged that on January 9, 2026, Umut Altaş told his father Celal Altaş via WhatsApp, "You think it's that easy, don't you? Your actions won't go unpunished. I expect 9,000 dollars in my account today. Stop pretending. You used to silence me, but who falls for these tricks? You see everyone as stupid as yourself. I will tell everything. You will see how the world turns." It was determined that Father Celal Altaş never mentioned these conversations in his statement.
Fugitive Umut Altaş and his father Celal Altaş "WE HAVEN'T SEEN UMUT FOR 4-5 MONTHS" In his statement to the gendarmerie, Celal Altaş did not mention his messaging with his son, saying, "I don't have another number I used during that time. After my son Umut Altaş went abroad, we used to communicate via WhatsApp on a number saved as 'Umut Baba' in my phone, which I don't recall now, until about 4-5 months ago. For the last 4-5 months, the number has been unreachable and we haven't been in contact because I think Umut got involved with drugs in the USA. I frequently talk to my other son Sidar in the USA, but he doesn't know about Umut's situation and hasn't heard from him. Umut was also using drugs while in Tunceli. I didn't see it, but I heard from his friends after he went to the USA."
"SEND ME MONEY, I AM BEING THREATENED" In his statement, Altaş continued, "I have no involvement or assistance in this incident whatsoever. Regarding Umut, I asked him many times when we spoke on the phone while he was in the USA, and he said, 'I don't know him, I have no information, I didn't witness anything.' However, about 3-4 months ago, when I was talking to my son on the phone, I insistently asked him, 'Did you witness something? Do you know anything?' He said, 'Mustafa Türkay once took out his gun in front of me and said I shot someone with this gun.' In another conversation, he said, 'Send me money, I am being threatened, I need a large amount of money.' He even angrily hung up the phone during that conversation. His request for money might have been for buying drugs, but I didn't understand why he was being threatened. When I asked my son if he saw or witnessed anything concrete, he only said these things," defending himself.
MINISTER GÜRLEK: UMUT ALTAŞ IS THE KEY TO SOLVING THE CASE In his statement regarding the investigation yesterday, Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek said, "Umut Altaş is the person who will solve the case because he is the closest witness to the incident. He also fled abroad in a suspicious manner. The investigation continues with the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Our Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is also monitoring the process regarding the governor. The process continues."
11 SUSPECTS WERE ARRESTED Having heard no news from their daughter Gülistan Doku (21), a university student studying in Tunceli, since January 5, 2020, her family came from their hometown Diyarbakır to Tunceli and filed a missing person report with the police on January 6, 2020. The search efforts launched yielded no results.
Based on new information obtained, within the scope of the investigation conducted by the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on charges of "intentional killing", "sexual assault", "concealing/destroying evidence of a crime", "unlawfully entering an information system to destroy/corrupt data", "deprivation of liberty", "failure to report a crime", and "harboring a criminal", 15 suspects, including the then Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, were taken into custody.
Among the suspects, Mustafa Türkay Sonel (son of Tuncay Sonel), former police officer Gökhan Ertok (alleged to have deleted data from Doku's SIM card), former Chief Physician of Tunceli State Hospital Çağdaş Özdemir (alleged to have deleted hospital records), former Tunceli Special Provincial Administration employee Erdoğan Elaldı, Celal Altaş, Nurşen Arıkan, Ferhat Hanedan Güven, Doku's boyfriend Zeinal Abakarov, her mother Cemile Yücer, and her stepfather Engin Yücer (a former police officer), as well as Şükrü Eroğlu (who served as Tuncay Sonel's protection police officer at the time), were arrested. Uğurcan A., Savaş G. (responsible for security cameras at Munzur University), and Süleyman Ö. were released on judicial probation with a travel ban imposed on them.