Süleyman Soylu's remarks that 'allegations against Governor Tuncay Sonel are baseless' appear in official records: Raised 94 times

In the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) records regarding the Doku investigation, statements by the then-Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu, such as "The PKK and HDP tried to politicize this issue" and "It has been understood that the judicial investigation of the incident was followed together by the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and that the allegations against Governor Tuncay Sonel are baseless," drew attention.

According to a report by Zeynep Algedik from Evrensel, the Gülistan Doku file was brought to the agenda a total of 94 times—78 times in the General Assembly and 16 times in committees—by HDP, CHP, TİP, and EMEP deputies.

32 parliamentary questions never answered

Meanwhile, 32 parliamentary questions submitted by opposition deputies to the then-Ministers of Justice Bekir Bozdağ and Abdülhamit Gül, and to Vice President Fuat Oktay, were never answered.

As reported, during the 2021 meetings of the Parliamentary Research Commission established to investigate incidents of violence against women, then-Interior Minister Soylu stated, "We have presented all our investigations on this matter, all work on this issue has been carried out, and we have not encountered any murder."

Soylu spoke about the issue at the commission meeting dated May 27, 2021, as follows:

"If I am asked a question about the Gülistan Doku matter, or if we are asked here, we would be facing an injustice. (...) So, this issue is a matter under our follow-up, and that is why, friends, the PKK and HDP tried to politicize this issue. This is not a matter of politics."

Soylu's response to the parliamentary question: It has been understood that the allegations against Sonel are baseless

The following statements were included in the response Soylu gave to a written parliamentary question by CHP Tunceli Deputy Polat Şaroğlu:

"It has been determined by the statements of eyewitnesses and vehicle camera footage that Gülistan Doku was last seen on the Sarı Saltuk Viaduct (Dinar Bridge) located over the Uzunçayır Dam Lake. Upon the determination that the phone signal was cut off on the bridge (...) Furthermore, during this process, I personally met with Gülistan Doku's family in Tunceli, and it has been understood that the judicial investigation of the incident was followed together by the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and that the allegations against Governor Tuncay Sonel are baseless."

AKP's Eronat asked, "Are we going to talk about every love suicide here?"

Statements made by ruling party deputies during the parliamentary debates also drew attention.

On July 1, 2020, after HDP deputies brought the issue to the agenda, AKP Diyarbakır Deputy Oya Eronat said, "Enough is enough. Are we going to talk about every love suicide here? Every suicide, every love suicide is not the agenda of this place."

In the same session, AKP Denizli Deputy Cahit Özkan stated, "To claim that the murderers are being protected by law enforcement... Look, this is being complicit in a murder; this is unacceptable, we cannot accept this."

AKP's Gülaçar: Is this a new provocation by the HDP?

During the General Assembly deliberations on February 23, 2022, AKP Van Deputy Osman Nuri Gülaçar said, "Is this a new provocation by the HDP? They have been absent for months, why now, why today?"

In the same session, Oya Eronat said, "Maybe you had it done. You might have taken her to the mountains."

Van Deputy Gülaçar stated, "The person named Zaynal Abakarov, as alleged—look, I swear you are exploiting this—this man is being investigated, his phones are being accessed. After the imaging and examination processes on the phones were completed, it was concluded that he only exchanged messages and that there was no information related to the occurrence of the incident."

News Source: 12punto