Former Tunceli governor's wife Handan Sonel arrested in Gülistan Doku case

Handan Sonel, wife of former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, was arrested on charges of destroying, concealing or altering criminal evidence in the investigation into the disappearance of university student Gülistan Doku in Tunceli. The number of detainees in the case has risen to 15.

Scraper SystemJuly 25, 2026, 11:32 AM

Former Tunceli governor's wife Handan Sonel arrested in Gülistan Doku case

The investigation into the disappearance of university student Gülistan Doku (21) in Tunceli took a new turn. Handan Sonel, wife of former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, was arrested on charges of "destroying, concealing or altering criminal evidence."

Village guard chief Y.A., who was taken into custody as part of the investigation, was released under judicial control after appearing before a court following the prosecutor’s questioning. With Handan Sonel’s arrest, the number of people held in the case has risen to 15.

Gülistan Doku had not been heard from since January 5, 2020, and her family filed a missing persons report with the police on January 6, 2020, but search efforts yielded no results. The Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office detained a total of 30 suspects as part of an investigation into charges including "intentional killing," "aiding intentional killing," "sexual assault," "concealing or destroying criminal evidence," "unlawfully accessing an information system and destroying or corrupting data," "deprivation of liberty," "failure to report a crime," and "favoring a criminal."

Among those previously arrested are then-Governor Tuncay Sonel, his son Mustafa Türkay Sonel, former police officer Gökhan Ertok who is accused of deleting data from Doku's SIM card, the former chief physician of Tunceli State Hospital Çağdaş Özdemir, former Special Provincial Administration employee Erdoğan Elaldı, Celal Altaş, Nurşen Arıkan, Ferhat Hanedan Güven, Doku's boyfriend Zeinal Abakarov, her mother Cemile Yücer and stepfather former police officer Engin Yücer, Tuncay Sonel's then-security detail officer Şükrü Eroğlu, village guard Fatih Özmen, and Mehmet Aca, the owner of an IT company believed to have tampered with Doku's phone.

Among those released under judicial control in the investigation are Uğurcan A, security camera supervisor at Munzur University Savaş G., Süleyman Ö., B.Y. and Y.E. who are accused of deleting hospital records, businessperson O.Y., F.K., A.Ş., H.K., E.E., M.Y., T.S., E.Y. Additionally, Y.S., M.P. and Y.A., who were banned from traveling abroad, were also released after giving statements to the prosecutor.

Fugitive suspect Umut Altaş, wanted with a Red Notice, was detained in the United States. The Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office summoned the then-Tunceli Police Chief Yılmaz Delen to testify as a witness as part of the investigation into former Governor Tuncay Sonel.

Former Tunceli governor's wife Handan Sonel arrested in Gülistan Doku case