14.04.2026 11:11
An anonymous note sent to the family's lawyer drew attention in the file that was taken off the shelf following Justice Minister Akın Gürlek's statement, 'Wherever the end goes.' The explicit inclusion of the name Mustafa Türkay Sonel, son of the then Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, in the note created a breakthrough in the file. Within the scope of the reopened file, 13 people, including Doku's boyfriend Zeinal Abakarov, Mustafa Türkay Sonel, and the governor's bodyguard Şükrü Eroğlu, were detained.
Following the instruction given by Justice Minister Akın Gürlek with his statement, "We will shatter the perception that the powerful are untouchable. Execute the file, wherever it leads," the file of Gülistan Doku, a second-year student in the Child Development Department of Munzur University who has been missing since January 5, 2020, was reopened after being taken off the shelf. The detail of the "anonymous note" that led to the file being taken off the shelf drew attention.
THE GOVERNOR'S SON'S NAME WAS WRITTEN IN THE NOTE The questions that have awaited answers for years in the Gülistan Doku file were brought back to the agenda with an anonymous note left for the family's lawyer. The explicit writing of the name of Mustafa Türkay Sonel, the son of then Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, in the note created a critical turning point in the file.
THE FILE EVOLVED FROM A MISSING PERSONS CASE TO A POSSIBLE MURDER In the investigation that has been painstakingly slow, the file, initially considered a missing persons case, was taken to a different dimension following the note, with subsequent technical examinations, witness statements, and new evidence. The investigating authorities began to examine not only the possibility of disappearance but also suspicions of murder and possible evidence tampering allegations. Particularly, vehicle movements and digital traces related to the day of the incident and afterwards strengthened the suspicions.
CRITICAL NAMES DETAINED Simultaneous operations were organized by the units conducting the investigation in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Izmir, Antalya, Elazığ, and Tunceli to apprehend 13 suspects. In the operation, Gülistan Doku's boyfriend Z. A., his stepfather E. Y., a former police officer, his mother C. Y., U. A., E. E., Mustafa Türkay Sonel, the son of then Tunceli Governor and current Ministry of Interior Inspector Tuncay Sonel, G. E., S. G., S. Ö., C. A., N. A. were detained. It was noted that efforts to apprehend the suspects continue and detention procedures are ongoing.
LAST SIGNAL ON THE SARISALTUK VIADUCT-DINAR BRIDGE LINE It was determined that on the day Gülistan Doku disappeared, she last left her teacher's house, 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 accounts were examined. It was determined that the last signal was received on the Sarı Saltuk Viaduct-Dinar Bridge line. Despite intensive searches at the Uzunçayır Dam, no trace of Gülistan was found.
Gülistan Doku's last images before disappearance SIM CARD, DIGITAL MOBILITY 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 parts of the file.
SECRET WITNESS STATEMENTS CHANGED THE COURSE OF THE FILE The secret witness statement recently added to the file changed, or rather clarified, the direction of the investigation. The prosecution deepened the investigation further based on these findings confirming the secret witness accounts.
HER BOYFRIEND DELETED MESSAGES ON HIS PHONE In the file, the movements of Gülistan's boyfriend, Zeinal Abakarov, are a separate topic. According to the investigation documents, it was determined that some messages on Zeinal's phone had been deleted, while messages he sent via social media after Gülistan's disappearance were found to be noteworthy. These messages were seen to contain expressions giving the impression that he knew something had happened to Gülistan.
ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO MAKE THE FILE "COMPLEX" Moreover, it was understood that not only Zeinal but also some individuals 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 attempts were made to make the file complex. Therefore, the ongoing investigation now focuses not only on finding a missing person but also on reconstructing the chain of evidence from the beginning.
THE INVISIBLE CIRCLE FORMED AROUND THE FAMILY Another notable element in the file was statements suggesting that Gülistan Doku's family was placed 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 said 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 public suspicion of "was the file deliberately slowed down?" was taken seriously 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 in the early years or were examined limitedly, were taken for detailed examination by JASAT and expert teams. Furthermore, based on HTS records, narrowed base station studies, and new technical reports, the events of the day were reconstructed minute by minute.
According to prosecution sources, many details 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 was not just an apprehension move; it was one of the clearest steps taken to unravel the darkness accumulated over the years.
MINISTER GÜRLEK: EVEN IF A PUBLIC OFFICIAL IS INVOLVED, THEY SHOULD BE PURSUED 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 great political and legal significance precisely for this reason.
In Ankara's corridors, it is being discussed that Justice Minister Gürlek said, "We will break the perception that the powerful are untouchable," demanded that the investigation be carried out to the end, and gave the instruction, "If public officials are involved, public officials should also be pursued." In Ankara's corridors, this approach is considered a critical threshold for all cases.
The operation that followed this message shows that the state will now handle the file much more harshly and directly. Especially the fact that allegations related to public officials are being brought to the investigation ground seems to put an end to the long-standing "protection shield" debates in the file.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED? The family of Gülistan Doku, a university student in Tunceli, who had not heard from their daughter since January 5, 2020, came from their hometown Diyarbakır to Tunceli and filed a missing person report with the police on January 6, 2020. Teams that spoke with the 21-year-old young woman's friends and monitored her cell phone signals had launched a search. No results were obtained from the searches.