New raids in Gülistan Doku probe: 18 detained
DERSİM — The investigation into Gülistan Doku, a university student missing since Jan. 5, 2020, is widening, with new operations across Erzurum and Tunceli.
RastinewsDERSİM — The investigation into Gülistan Doku, a university student who has been missing since Jan. 5, 2020, is widening. On orders from the Erzurum and Tunceli chief public prosecutors' offices, simultaneous raids were carried out in 15 provinces.
Teams from the Erzurum Provincial Gendarmerie Command conducted raids in Nevşehir, Istanbul, Isparta, Bilecik, Bursa, Çanakkale, Ordu, Aydın, Diyarbakır, Kayseri, Ankara, Erzincan, Eskişehir, İzmir and Antalya, targeting 19 people, among them a serving police chief, a superintendent and several commissioners. Eighteen suspects were detained and taken to gendarmerie units.
Former Governor Sonel Back at Courthouse
The Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which is deepening the investigation, examined digital material belonging to jailed defendant Tuncay Sonel, the former governor of Tunceli. The review drew attention to correspondence between Sonel and Gökhan Ertok, a dismissed police officer also jailed in the case.
Investigators said the correspondence was being assessed in relation to charges of destroying, concealing or altering evidence; unlawfully obtaining personal data; unlawfully depriving a person of liberty; intentional injury; extortion; and destroying data in an information system. Following these findings, former Governor Tuncay Sonel, bodyguard Şükrü Eroğlu and retired police officer Gökhan Ertok — all held in prison — were taken to Erzurum Courthouse after undergoing medical checks.
Prosecutors Point to "Unlawful Network"
The Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had earlier issued the following statement on the technical examination:
"Technical examination of suspect Tuncay Sonel's digital material turned up photographs, correspondence and concrete findings — of an incidental evidentiary nature — pointing to an unlawful network involving the abuse of public power, as well as touching on various offenses under the Turkish Penal Code."
So far, 15 people have been jailed in the case, including former Governor Sonel and suspect Zaynal Abakarov, while fugitive suspect Umut Altaş was captured in the United States.