Gülistan Doku investigation: New statement from Süleyman Soylu regarding his remarks about Governor Tuncay Sonel

The investigation into Gülistan Doku, who went missing in Tunceli on January 5, 2020, and for which no progress has been made for years, has recently returned to the agenda. The history of the file, which was reflected in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, has also become the focus of discussions.

According to a report by Evrensel, it has emerged that a parliamentary question regarding Gülistan Doku was submitted to the then-Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu by CHP Tunceli MP Polat Şaroğlu, and that this question was answered by Soylu.

In the response Soylu gave to the parliamentary question, it was stated that he used the following expressions: "During this process, I met with Gülistan Doku's family in Tunceli, and it was understood that the judicial investigation of the incident was being followed together with the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and that the allegations against Governor Tuncay Sonel were baseless."

SOYLU REACTS TO THE ALLEGATIONS

Following the issue returning to the public agenda, former Interior Minister and AKP Istanbul MP Süleyman Soylu made a statement on his social media account.

Reacting harshly to the reports about him, Soylu expressed his criticisms with the words, "National Journalists! For years, without fearing God, you have been continuing your smear campaigns against me. While doing this, you do not leave Islam to anyone else. In our faith, slander and suspicion are considered as disgusting as eating the flesh of one's own brother." Soylu also shared the documents from the period in question.

National Journalists!
For years, without fearing God, you have been continuing your smear campaigns against me.

While doing this, you do not leave Islam to anyone else.

In our faith, slander and suspicion are considered as disgusting as eating the flesh of one's own brother.

One… pic.twitter.com/UjXi0tfyyj

— Süleyman Soylu (@suleymansoylu) April 26, 2026

In the shared document, it was also seen that the following expressions were included: "Furthermore, during this process, I met with Gülistan Doku's family in Tunceli, and it was understood that the judicial investigation of the incident was being followed together with the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and that the allegations against Governor Tuncay Sonel were baseless."

“THE RELIGION OF THE STATE IS JUSTICE”

Soylu included the following statements in his explanation:

"The questions asked by a member of parliament regarding the incident during our ministry period were answered within the framework of an ongoing investigation, limited only to those concrete questions and taking into account the investigation conducted by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. The answers given to those questions and the subject of the reports you have made are completely distorted, lies; they are slander.

My answer to those who distort all of this and spew hatred and anger through "commissioned reports" that are clearly coordinated from a single center by almost all opposition media outlets using the same sentences regarding myself, over the pain of an innocent girl, is clear: The religion of the state is justice.

The life of an innocent person is more precious than all of us, than positions and ranks. This investigation must be carried out with determination, not only in terms of those who committed the act and those who covered it up, but also in terms of every point that may have been neglected, no matter where it leads.

Know this… Your reckoning in the next world will be heavy. God is with the righteous.

Below are the questions asked by the MP, the answers given through the General Directorate of Security, your reports containing slander and distortion, and the reports published by other media outlets you act in concert with using the same sentences..."