Turkish authorities detained 15 additional suspects Tuesday as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of university student Gülistan Doku, who has been missing since January 2020.
The suspects were apprehended during simultaneous operations across Elazığ, Malatya and Tunceli in eastern Türkiye, Ankara and Istanbul, under the coordination of the chief public prosecutor's offices in Tunceli and Erzurum.
Those detained include Handan Sonel, the wife of former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, the owner of an information technology company suspected of tampering with Doku's mobile phone, three doctors, a nurse, an information technology specialist, five hospital data entry personnel, a businessperson and two village guards, and the judicial procedures for the suspects are ongoing.
In a statement, the Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said investigators continue to examine witness testimonies, cyber and digital evidence, financial records and field findings.
Prosecutors said the investigation uncovered significant evidence suggesting Doku sought treatment at Tunceli State Hospital over concerns she may have been pregnant and that her medical records were deliberately deleted in an attempt to conceal evidence.
Based on the findings, authorities launched simultaneous operations targeting 10 suspects linked to the hospital, all of whom were taken into custody.
Separately, the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said its investigation, based on witness statements, confidential witness testimony, phone records (HTS) and other evidence, identified findings suggesting Doku's body may have been deliberately buried or destroyed by individuals linked to the suspects.
The latest operation follows an earlier phase of the investigation in which 17 suspects were detained on allegations including intentional murder, sexual assault, destruction and concealment of evidence, unlawful access to information systems, deprivation of liberty, failure to report a crime and aiding a criminal.
Twelve of those suspects were subsequently arrested, including former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, his son Mustafa Türkay Sonel, former police officer Gökhan Ertok, former Tunceli State Hospital chief physician Çağdaş Özdemir, former provincial administration employee Erdoğan Elaldı, Celal Altaş, Nurşen Arıkan, Ferhat Hanedan Güven, Doku's boyfriend Zeinal Abakarov, her mother Cemile Yücer, her stepfather Engin Yücer and Şükrü Eroğlu, who served as Tuncay Sonel's protection officer, while five other suspects were released under judicial supervision with travel bans.
Authorities also said fugitive suspect Umut Altaş, who is subject to an Interpol Red Notice, was detained in the U.S. as part of the investigation.
The disappearance of university student Doku remained one of Türkiye's most closely watched unsolved cases for more than six years before prosecutors this year revived the investigation with new witness testimony, digital evidence and other findings.
Doku, a 21-year-old Munzur University student, disappeared on Jan. 5, 2020. Her family traveled from Diyarbakır to Tunceli and reported her missing the following day. Despite extensive search efforts, she has never been found.
