FBI interview of suspect reveals alleged 2020 shooting of missing student Gülistan Doku
A U.S. FBI interview with suspect Umut Altaş provided new details alleging that Mustafa Türkay Sonel shot missing university student Gülistan Doku in a BMW near Tunceli in January 2020.
Umut Altaş, a suspect detained in the United States, was interviewed by the FBI and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations at a processing center in Pennsylvania after Turkey requested judicial assistance. Altaş alleged that on Jan. 5, 2020, Mustafa Türkay Sonel shot Gülistan Doku, a 21-year-old university student, inside a BMW while Altaş sat in the front passenger seat. He described moving the body to the trunk, a subsequent phone call to Şükrü Eroğlu, and Sonel’s instructions to keep quiet, including threats and a cash bribe.
License-plate and traffic-camera data presented during the interview placed both men near the Sarısaltuk Viaduct and showed the BMW traveling toward Elazığ before returning. The FBI compiled a 34-page report, which Turkish officials received through the Justice Ministry’s Directorate General for Foreign Relations and European Union Affairs. The investigation remains active, with recent arrests bringing the total number of detainees to 30.
