'We have initiated legal proceedings,' he had said: Response from the Gülistan Doku family's lawyer to Tuncay Sonel's statement!

Former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, who was arrested as part of the investigation reopened in recent months regarding the disappearance of Gülistan Doku on January 5, 2020, made a statement on his social media account regarding the investigation.

In his post on his X account, Sonel stated that legal action had been initiated through his lawyers against the news reports and comments published in the press, on the internet, and on social media platforms over the last 5 months concerning himself and his family.

Sonel's statement is as follows:

“Legal proceedings have been initiated by our lawyers against the news, comments, and baseless allegations published in the written and visual press, on the internet, and in social media environments over the last 5 months regarding myself and my family, which target my family on the national agenda and disregard the presumption of innocence.

Our greatest desire is for the Gülistan Doku investigation to be clarified and for the truth to be revealed. Because I do not have the slightest doubt about myself, my wife, or my son. With God's permission, justice will be served sooner or later.

Our friends and loved ones should not have the slightest doubt about us. Thank God, our heads are held high, and our conscience is clear. We have been very worn out as a family during this process. We have been very saddened. We have been subjected to fabrications and slanders.

I learned our daughter Gülistan's name for the first time when the news of her disappearance arrived. Before that, neither I nor my family had any relationship with her. We tried to show the compassion of our State to her family who came to Tunceli from Diyarbakır, to stand by them with our good intentions, and to support them.

Wherever it may lead, I hope the truth will be revealed as soon as possible so that we, as a family, are no longer subjected to unfair and baseless allegations. With God's permission, we will reunite with our family and loved ones as soon as possible.”

RESPONSE FROM ÇİMEN, LAWYER FOR THE GÜLİSTAN DOKU FAMILY

Following the statement by former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, Ali Çimen, the lawyer for the Gülistan Doku family, also made a counter-statement via social media.

Çimen noted that the posts Sonel made on his X account were intended to discredit the investigation file and constituted disinformation. Stating that the necessary legal process had been initiated to prevent Sonel's posts aimed at discrediting the procedures carried out with the investigative authorities, Çimen stated that Sonel is under arrest for many crimes in two separate files as part of the investigation.

The entirety of Çimen's statement is as follows:

“It has been determined by us that the suspect Tuncay SONEL, who is under arrest for many crimes in two separate files as part of the Gülistan DOKU investigation, has been making posts in the form of disinformation on his X account in order to discredit our investigation file. The necessary legal action has been initiated by us to prevent the aforementioned person's posts on his X account aimed at discrediting the investigative authorities and their procedures.”

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WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

Her family, who had not heard from Gülistan Doku (21) since January 5, 2020, traveled from their hometown of Diyarbakır to Tunceli and filed a missing person report with the police on January 6, 2020, but no results were obtained from the search efforts initiated.

In line with new information obtained, 19 suspects were detained as part of the investigation conducted by the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for the crimes of "intentional killing," "aiding in intentional killing," "sexual assault," "concealing-destroying evidence of a crime," "destroying-corrupting data by accessing an information system unlawfully," "deprivation of liberty," "failure to report a crime," and "harboring a criminal."

Among the suspects, former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, Tuncay Sonel's son Mustafa Türkay Sonel, former police officer Gökhan Ertok, who is alleged to have deleted data on Doku's SIM card, the then-Chief Physician of Tunceli State Hospital Çağdaş Özdemir, who is alleged to have deleted hospital records, former Tunceli Provincial Special Administration employee Erdoğan Elaldı, Celal Altaş, Nurşen Arıkan, Ferhat Hanedan Güven, Doku's boyfriend Zeinal Abakarov, his mother Cemile Yücer and his stepfather Engin Yücer, who is a former police officer, Şükrü Eroğlu, who was Tuncay Sonel's protection officer at the time, and security guard Fatih Özmen were arrested, while Uğurcan A., Savaş G. and Süleyman Ö., who were responsible for the security cameras of Munzur University, B.Y. and Y.E., who were alleged to have deleted hospital records, and businessman O.Y. were released with judicial control conditions, with a travel ban imposed on them.

In the investigation, the fugitive suspect Umut Altaş, who was wanted with a red notice, was detained in the USA.

Within the framework of the investigation conducted by the Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, the then-Tunceli Police Chief Yılmaz Delen was called to testify as a witness.

Former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel's wife Handan Sonel and the owner of the IT company were also arrested.

News Source: 12punto