FBI Report in Gülistan Doku Case: 'I Watched Her Get Shot, We Put the Body in the Trunk'
RastinewsA major break has surfaced in the case of Gülistan Doku, missing for more than six years. Umut Altaş, questioned by the FBI in the United States, claims he watched Mustafa Türkay Sonel shoot Doku inside a car. Altaş says the two men then loaded the body into the trunk together, and that Şükrü Eroğlu, bodyguard to then-Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, stepped in afterward.
Gülistan Doku, a university student, has been missing from Tunceli since January 5, 2020. Umut Altaş, wanted under an active arrest warrant and now located in the United States, has given a statement that has entered the case file.
FBI agents and US Homeland Security Investigations officers questioned Altaş on August 19 and 20, 2026, at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.
The interrogation ran through 109 questions prepared by Turkish authorities. The resulting 34-page FBI report was sent on to Turkey.
"Gülistan was in the back seat. He pulled out a gun and shot her"
Altaş claims that on January 5, 2020, he and Mustafa Türkay Sonel picked up Gülistan Doku in a BMW.
Sonel was driving, Altaş says, with himself in the front seat and Doku in the back. An argument broke out inside the car.
According to Altaş, Sonel pulled a pistol from the glove compartment and shot Doku.
Asked by FBI officers, "Do you believe Mustafa Türkay Sonel killed Gülistan Doku?" Altaş answered "Yes" and said he witnessed the killing himself.
"We put the body in the trunk"
Altaş says that after the shooting, he and Sonel moved Doku's body into the trunk of the car.
Sonel then called Şükrü Eroğlu, bodyguard to then-Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, and spoke with him for about 15 to 20 minutes, Altaş says.
Altaş claims Sonel told him: "Stay quiet. Don't tell anyone about this. My father will take care of it and make it disappear."
The next morning, Altaş says, Sonel called again, this time saying: "Don't worry, it's handled. Just don't tell anyone anything."
He pointed to the Pertek road for the body
Altaş's FBI statement also contains a new claim about where Gülistan Doku's body might be.
Altaş says Sonel told him the body was left roughly 30 minutes from the scene, toward Pertek.
He suggested the body may have been buried near a new road under construction at the time, but stressed he never saw the location himself — the claim rests solely on what Sonel told him.
Cell tower records confronted him
During questioning, Altaş was also shown cell-site (HTS) and license-plate-recognition records.
Investigation data places Altaş near the Sarısaltuk Viaduct — where Doku was last seen — at 22:09 on January 5, 2020. He was shown records placing Sonel and Eroğlu in the same area during the same window.
After giving inconsistent answers, Altaş acknowledged that he and Sonel had gone back to the bridge after the incident.
Sonel's stated reason for returning, according to Altaş: "We're going to check if there are any cameras."
"We are the state as a family. Nothing can touch us"
Altaş also claims Sonel threatened to kill him after the incident.
He says Sonel told him: "You know my power. I can kill you and your family. We are the state as a family — nothing can touch us." Altaş also claims he was offered money to stay silent.
The file includes a message Altaş sent to his father: "Stop the act. It was you who silenced me."
Altaş says that in 2022 he traveled from Istanbul to Mexico and then to the US border, and that his father paid the $10,000 fee for his illegal crossing.
The claims now sit with prosecutors
In its cover letter dated August 26, 2026, the FBI noted that the 34-page report sent to Turkey is not a verbatim transcript, but a summary prepared by the agents who conducted the interviews.
Altaş's account contains inconsistencies. His statements do not yet amount to verified forensic findings.
The Erzurum and Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices are continuing the investigation, cross-checking Altaş's FBI statements against HTS and license-plate-recognition records and other witness testimony in the file.