ISTANBUL (Medyascope) – Last week (April 14), a long-dormant cold case involving the 2020 disappearance of a university student in eastern Turkey was revived with 13 new arrests. Gülistan Doku, a second-year student in the Tunceli province, disappeared in January 2020 and has become a poster child for Turkey’s femicide issue.
Among the new arrests last week included Doku’s ex-boyfriend, as well as the son of then-governor of Tunceli Mustafa Türkay Sonel. Turkey’s newly appointed Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, who took office in February, had ordered a revival of the case. Doku disappeared on January 4th, 2020 after she left her university dormitory and did not return. Demonstrations by Doku’s family as well as their direct appeals to Turkish political leaders had failed to produce meaningful developments in the case over the past six years.
Key Takeaways
- Gülistan Doku, a university student, disappeared in January 2020, sparking a renewed investigation with 13 new arrests last week.
- Among those arrested are Doku’s ex-boyfriend and the son of the former Tunceli governor, prompting allegations of a cover-up.
- An anonymous witness claims Doku was murdered by the governor’s son, allegedly after being sexually assaulted.
- Investigations have been launched into deletions of Doku’s medical records and the actions of high-ranking officials.
- Doku’s family remains hopeful but stresses that the focus should be on uncovering the truth behind high-ranking corrosion.
What you need to know
Sister, lawyer speak to Medyascope
Speaking to Medyascope’s Göksel Göksu, Gülistan’s older sister Aygül Doku said: “I have suffered immensely and witnessed incredible trauma over the past seven years. For 220 days I went searching for some trace of my sister. I made a promise to myself that no other family would ever have to go through what we’ve gone through.”
Speaking of her newfound optimism in the revival of the case, Aygül mentioned Ebru Cansu, the newly appointed Tunceli Chief Prosecutor.
Speaking to Medyascope, the Doku family’s lawyer Ali Çimen said the 13 individuals taken into custody last week are “low-level suspects,” saying: “The real issue are the high-ranking public officials who orchestrated the cover-up.”
Allegations from Gülistan’s older sister
A day after speaking to Medyascope, Aygül Doku made further allegations of a cover-up in the Gülistan case, saying that a former police officer who was among the 13 arrested admitted to having received $10,000 in exchange for destroying evidence in the case:
“A former police officer named Gökhan Ertok, who is currently in custody, contacted us and said he received $10,000 to erase evidence in Gülistan’s case. He shared this information along with supporting documents. He also stated that Gülistan was alive until late on January 5th, 2020 and that he was the one who destroyed images that could have served as evidence in the case. We also learned that certain hospital records were deleted. Certain camera recordings were also altered. Apparently all of this was orchestrated by [former Tunceli governor] Tuncay Sonel.”
Gökhan Ertok was arrested late last week in connection with the case, along with former provincial administration employee Erdoğan Elaldı. Both men are accused of tampering with evidence after Doku’s disappearance. According to prosecutors, Ertok logged into a social media account belonging to Doku shortly after her disappearance and proceeded to delete two individuals from Doku’s friends list.
Statement from anonymous witness
An anonymous witness in the case made a statement late last week alleging that Gülistan Doku was murdered by the son of the governor of Tunceli at the time. The statement alleged that Doku was the victim of sexual assault prior to her murder and ended up pregnant before being murdered with a machine gun near the Sarı Saltuk Viaduct in Tunceli province.
With the help of the local Tunceli forest administration, Doku’s remains were hidden and buried in an area not to be found by search and rescue efforts, according to the anonymous witness allegations.
Tunceli Public Hospital, former governor under investigation
An investigation into the Tunceli Public Hospital has also been launched by Turkey’s Interior Ministry on suspicions that Doku’s medical records were deleted shortly after her disappearance.
The Interior Ministry also launched an investigation into former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, whose son has emerged as a chief suspect in the case. Sonel served as governor of Tunceli Province from 2017-2020 before serving as Ordu Governor from 2020-2023. Currently, Sonel serves as an investigator for the Interior Ministry but was placed on leave following the announcement of the new investigation.
Ex-boyfriend, step father arrested
Gülistan Doku’s ex-boyfriend Zeinal Abakarov, with whom she had reportedly argued on the day of her disappearance, was arrested following his initial detention with 12 other suspects last week. For years, Doku’s family has campaigned for Abakarov’s arrest as a suspect in the case, but these efforts have been unsuccessful due to lack of evidence. In March 2022, Abakarov was briefly detained before being released shortly thereafter.
Engin Yücer, step-father of Abakarov and former police officer, was also arrested. In a recent testimony over the weekend, Yücer revealed he lent his car to his step-son on the night of Doku’s disappearance in order for Abakarov to give her a ride amidst heavy rainfall in Tunceli province.
Statement from former Tunceli governor’s son
Over the weekend, former Tunceli governor Tuncay Sonel’s son Mustafa Türkay Sonel, who has emerged as a chief suspect in the case, rejected allegations of his involvement in Doku’s disappearance. In his statement, Sonel said he did not know Doku and had never even heard of her until the news of her disappearance emerged.
A recent report from the Turkish Gendarmerie alleged that Sonel was responsible for murdering Doku along with fellow suspect Umut Altaş. After the murder, the pair allegedly buried the remains next to a cemetery in the village of Kocpınar before digging them up 1-2 years later. These allegations from the gendarmerie report are based on an anonymous witness testimony and have not yet been substantiated by physical evidence.
Written/Translated by Leo Kendrick for Medyascope
