[REVISION HISTORY]

Turkey's Gülistan Doku case expands – 112 suspects

Updated 23 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-06 12:33 UTC → 2026-09-06 13:55 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The investigation into the 2020 disappearance of Munzur University student Gülistan Doku in Tunceli has expanded into a major organized crime probe. Prosecutors characterize the case as a ‘dark network of relationships’ where high-level civil, security, and local officials allegedly used public power to interfere with judicial, digital, and medical systems. Following multiple waves of operations, the number of detainees has grown to include former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, his wife Handan Sonel, and their son Mustafa Türkay Sonel, alongside various law enforcement and medical officials. Recent arrests also included former Deputy Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Ali Kahraman and his wife, Burçin Hızlı Kahraman, after investigators analyzed vehicle tracking and phone records. A significant international development has emerged via Umut Altaş, a fugitive currently in the United States. Following a two-day interrogation in August 2026 at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, Altaş provided a 34-page testimony to the FBI. In his statement, Altaş claimed to be a direct witness to the murder, alleging that Mustafa Türkay Sonel shot Doku with a black handgun featuring a Turkish flag pattern inside a BMW vehicle. Altaş ~~further~~ stated that he assisted in moving Doku's body into the vehicle's trunk and alleged that, following the incident, Mustafa Türkay Sonel told him, ‘My father will handle this matter.’ He further suggested that Şükrü Eroğlu, a protection officer for the former governor, became involved, and noted that the body might be buried near a new road in the Pertek area. The FBI's FD-302 report has been sent to Turkish judicial authorities through a mutual legal assistance process. The investigation, led by the Erzurum and Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices, includes charges of intentional murder, qualified sexual assault, deprivation of liberty, and the destruction of evidence.

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