21.04.2026 10:51
In the investigation reopened six years later in the case of Gulistan Doku, Chief Physician Çağdaş Özdemir was arrested after it was determined that hospital records had been deliberately deleted. While the repercussions of the incident continue, it has emerged that Özdemir was named "Physician of the Year" in 2017.
The case regarding the disappearance of university student Gülistan Doku in Tunceli has come back to the agenda after a six-year hiatus. With the deepening of the investigation, a significant development occurred. In line with the work carried out within the scope of the case, the then Chief Physician of Tunceli State Hospital, Çağdaş Özdemir, was arrested. It was learned that the arrest warrant issued for Özdemir was related to the investigations conducted regarding the deletion of hospital records.
AWARDED "PHYSICIAN OF THE YEAR"
While the repercussions of the incident continue, an intriguing detail about Özdemir has emerged. According to information on his official social media account, it was determined that Özdemir was awarded the "Physician of the Year" by the Ministry of Health in 2017 for his work in the field of normal childbirth.
HOW WERE HOSPITAL RECORDS DELETED?
After the first missing person report for Gülistan Doku, police teams began to examine hotel, pharmacy, and hospital records. During the inquiry, a digital record of Doku's admission to the hospital was detected.
This data output was added to the case file and was kept for a while in the Missing Persons Bureau of the police. However, it later emerged that the digital records for the day Gülistan Doku applied to the hospital had been deleted from the system.
The response to a letter sent by the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to a company on March 27, 2025, included striking findings in the reply given on April 16, 2025. The examination emphasized that POLNET records were considered official and error-free, while it was stated that no visit or LOG record belonging to Gülistan Doku could be accessed.
Moreover, despite the company providing HBYS system services to the hospital between December 31, 2019, and January 31, 2020, it was expressed that the absence of LOG records for this period was "contrary to the ordinary course of life." As a result of the investigation, it was assessed that the relevant records were intentionally deleted through professional intervention.
Authorities stated that such LOG records could only be deleted by individuals who have mastery over the main codes of the software and possess technical knowledge. It was reported that it was not possible to recover the deleted records.
The findings obtained within the scope of the investigation revealed that the system records for the relevant date were eliminated through unauthorized and deliberate intervention.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Since January 5, 2020, there had been no news from university student Gülistan Doku (21) studying in Tunceli. Based on new information obtained, the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office took the case off the shelf and detained 15 suspects, including the then Governor of Tunceli, Tuncay Sonel.
Among the suspects, Tuncay Sonel's son Mustafa Türkay Sonel, former police officer Gökhan Ertok, who is alleged to have deleted data from Doku's SIM card, former Tunceli Special 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, who is a former police officer, as well as Şükrü Eroğlu, who was the protection police for Tuncay Sonel at that time, and Özdemir were arrested.
Uğurcan A. and Savaş G. and Süleyman Ö., who were responsible for the security cameras of Munzur University, were released under judicial control with a travel ban imposed.