Former Tunceli Governor Sonel detained

Within the scope of the investigation reopened by the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the disappearance of university student Gülistan Doku 6 years ago, the Tunceli Governor at the time, Tuncay Sonel, was detained in Elazığ.

The detention order for Sonel was issued on the charge of "destroying, concealing, or altering evidence of a crime."

DETAINED

The Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued a detention order for Erzurum Governor Tuncay Sonel, who was suspended from duty, based on new evidence obtained during the investigation conducted by the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

Following the instructions of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Sonel was detained by teams from the Erzurum Public Security Branch on charges of "destroying, concealing, or altering evidence of a crime."

"DUE TO A CRIME EVALUATED AS HAVING BEEN COMMITTED COLLECTIVELY"

The detention order from the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office included the following statements:

"Within the scope of our investigation file numbered 2026/7025, regarding the crime attributed to the suspect whose clear identity is written above and which is evaluated as having been committed collectively, it has been decided that the suspect be apprehended by the Judicial Law Enforcement Unit mentioned above and reported to our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office; subsequently, the suspect shall not be released, and in accordance with articles 91/1-2-3 of the Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271, it has been decided that he be DETAINED for a period not exceeding 24 hours from the moment of apprehension, considering the penalty amount for the charged crime in the Law, the necessity of detention for the investigation, the existence of indications that could lead to the belief that the suspect committed the charged crime, and the need to complete the investigation."

WHAT HAPPENED?

In the investigation into university student Gülistan Doku, who disappeared 6 years ago in Tunceli and whose fate remains a mystery, 13 suspects, including Mustafa Türkay Sonel, the son of the governor at the time, Tuncay Sonel, had previously been detained.

MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board) reports and secret witness testimonies included in the investigation pointed to payments made to cover up evidence and the use of public resources as a source of funds.

ALLEGATION: "THE GOVERNOR GAVE THE ORDER TO DELETE THE MESSAGES"

Gökhan Ertok, a former police officer dismissed from duty who was among the suspects arrested on charges of "destroying evidence" and who was found to have used Gülistan Doku's SIM card 13 days after her disappearance, claimed in his statement that the SIM card was given to him by Şükrü Eroğlu, the close protection officer of the then-Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, and that Sonel had given instructions to delete important data from Gülistan Doku's WhatsApp chats and social media messages.

SUSPENDED FROM DUTY

Following the new allegations and evidence reached within the scope of the investigation, Tuncay Sonel was suspended from duty by the decision of the Ministry of Interior.

In the statement made by the Ministry, it was said: "An investigation has been launched regarding the allegations against former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel upon the instructions of Minister of Interior Çiftçi. A civil inspector has been assigned regarding the allegations. Furthermore, Tuncay Sonel has been suspended from duty as part of the investigation."

News Source: 12punto