Detentions ordered for 13 suspects in long-running disappearance probe

TUNCELİ

AA Photo.

Authorities have issued detention orders for 13 suspects across seven provinces as part of a renewed investigation into the 2020 disappearance of university student Gülistan Doku, in a case that has drawn nationwide attention for years.

The operation was carried out simultaneously in Tunceli, Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Elazığ and İzmir.

Among those detained are Mustafa Türkay Sonel, the son of former Tunceli governor Tuncay Sonel, and Doku’s former boyfriend Zeynal Abarakov, the last known person to have met her.

Twelve of the suspects were transferred to Tunceli for further questioning.

Doku, a 21-year-old student at Munzur University, went missing on Jan. 5, 2020, after leaving her dormitory. Her family reported her missing the following day.

After six years with limited progress, the investigation has taken a significant turn following new witness testimonies and a special inquiry by Türkiye’s Gendarmerie intelligence unit JASAT.

Prosecutors are now treating the case as a possible homicide, alongside allegations of an organized cover-up, evidence tampering, deletion of digital traces and misuse of public authority.

Investigators are re-examining vehicle movements, phone signal data and previously deleted social media records from the day Doku disappeared and the period that followed.

A key development in the case is an anonymous note delivered to the family’s lawyer, which reportedly mentioned Mustafa Türkay Sonel by name.

Subsequent analysis suggested that his vehicle movements on the day of Doku’s disappearance were inconsistent with normal patterns.

Investigators also found that some messages on Abarakov’s phone had been deleted. Authorities flagged social media posts he shared after Doku went missing, which they say may indicate prior knowledge of an incident.