Expanding Gülistan Doku murder investigation reveals network spanning state institutions
The investigation into the 2020 disappearance of university student Gülistan Doku is expanding after it was reopened in April, with more than 30 suspects detained over the past two weeks.
The latest operation yesterday targeted law enforcement personnel suspected of interfering with evidence. Police launched raids in 15 provinces, detaining 18 people, including police chiefs, commissioners, serving and retired police officers and a computer operator, upon the order of the Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
'A shadowy network'
After a request by the office, an Erzurum court yesterday issued additional pretrial detention orders for former Tunceli governor Tuncay Sonel, his former bodyguard Şükrü Eroğlu and former police officer Gökhan Ertok, who were already in custody.
The new orders concern allegations of destroying or altering digital data, deprivation of liberty, aggravated robbery and unlawfully obtaining personal data.
In its referral letter to the court, the prosecutor’s office said forensic examinations and cyber data recovery procedures carried out on Sonel’s devices had uncovered concrete evidence capable of affecting the course of the investigation.
The filing said investigators had examined instructions and messages sent by Sonel to suspect Gökhan Ertok. Prosecutors assessed that the two had established an unlawful and “shadowy” network of relations in which public authority was used as a tool, Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reported citing the investigation file.
Mother and sister of missing Gülistan Doku released from detention
Monitoring Doku's family illegally
The widening case now centers not only on what happened to Doku, but also on allegations that officials used their positions to suppress evidence, manipulate records and monitor the family illegally after her disappearance.
MOTHER OF MISSING GÜLİSTAN DOKU
‘I will sit in this square until my daughter is found’
Last week, 15 suspects were remanded in custody, including former governor Sonel’s wife, Handan Sonel, who also faces allegations of destroying, concealing or altering evidence. The arrests followed operations in Elazığ, Malatya, Ankara, İstanbul and Dersim on Jul 21 and 23.
The suspects targeted included three doctors, a nurse, hospital and information technology employees, the owner of a technology company, a businessperson and two security guards.
The Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said investigators had obtained new findings concerning the alleged deletion of medical records and coordinated efforts to conceal evidence.
Refuting police report, expert review of footage says Gülistan Doku did not jump off bridge
The inquiry has also expanded into the financial activities of Sonel and other suspects. Prosecutors requested a detailed review of their assets, bank transfers and property transactions. Transactions involving Eroğlu, Sonel's bodyguard, since 2019 were included in the review.
Prosecutors are also examining claims that Doku’s body, which has never been found, was buried or otherwise disposed of.
WHAT HAPPENED TO GÜLİSTAN DOKU?
Search efforts for missing Gülistan Doku ended again
Six years without answers
Doku, a 21-year-old child development student at Munzur University, disappeared in Dersim on Jan 5, 2020.
The initial investigation focused on the possibility that she had entered the Uzunçayır Dam Lake after a signal was detected from her phone. No trace of her was found, despite extensive searches and the draining of the reservoir.
For years, the case was largely treated as a disappearance or possible suicide. Doku’s family repeatedly rejected that account and accused public officials of withholding evidence.
The new investigation has shifted the focus toward a suspected killing and an alleged institutional cover-up extending through law enforcement, administrative bodies, hospitals and digital record systems.
Despite dozens of detentions and arrests, Doku’s remains have not been found, and the circumstances of her disappearance have yet to be established.
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