29.01.2026 14:50
Following the appellate court's reversal decision, the retrial of 15 defendants in the case of the murder of Narin Güran regarding 'favoring the offender' has begun. All detained defendants were released under judicial control conditions.
The Diyarbakır Regional Court of Appeals has resumed the trial after overturning the convictions of 15 defendants charged with 'Concealing a Criminal' in the murder of Narin Güran. While some defendants attended the hearing at the Diyarbakır 17th Criminal Court of First Instance, the court decided to ask the 8th Heavy Criminal Court whether it had consented to the merger with the main case.
3 SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT
A case was opened at the Diyarbakır 8th Heavy Criminal Court against 4 individuals regarding the death of Narin Güran, whose lifeless body was found in a stream bed, covered with three stones weighing 30, 25, and 20 kilograms, and hidden with bushes on the 19th day of the search efforts after she went missing in the rural Tavşantepe neighborhood of the Bağlar district on August 21, 2024. Her uncle Salim Güran, who had DNA and hair samples belonging to Narin in his vehicle, along with her mother Yüksel Güran and her brother Enes Güran, were taken into custody, and neighbors Nevzat Bahtiyar, who confessed to transporting the body to the stream bed, were requested to be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for 'Intentional Murder of a Child in Concurrence'.
CASE TAKEN TO THE SUPREME COURT
In the second hearing of the case held on December 28, 2024, Salim Güran, Enes Güran, and Yüksel Güran were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for 'Intentional Murder of a Child in Concurrence', while Nevzat Bahtiyar was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for 'Destruction, Concealment, or Alteration of Evidence'. After the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Regional Court of Appeals upheld the prison sentences for the 4 defendants by majority vote, the case was sent to the Supreme Court. The 1st Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court upheld the aggravated life sentences for Salim Güran, Yüksel Güran, and Enes Güran regarding the murder of Narin Güran. It stated that the actions of the defendant Nevzat Bahtiyar should be evaluated within the scope of aiding qualified intentional murder, unanimously overturning the sentence and sending the case back to the 8th Heavy Criminal Court.
CASE OF 'CONCEALING A CRIMINAL'
Two separate indictments were prepared for a total of 15 individuals, including 3 minors involved in the Narin Güran murder case, for the crime of 'Concealing a Criminal'. The indictments were accepted and merged at the Diyarbakır 17th Criminal Court of First Instance and the Diyarbakır 2nd Juvenile Court. The court sentenced detained defendants B.G., F.G., and M.G. to 3 years and 6 months, and M.S.A., M.Ş.K., and M.K. to 3 years in prison, deciding to continue the detention of the first three defendants and release the other three. The defendants not in custody, H.G., Ş.K., İ.H.G., B.G., K.G., and Ö.F.G., were sentenced to 3 and 3 years and 6 months in prison, while minors R.A. (16) received 1 year and 3 months, and M.G. (16) and İ.K. (17) received 1 year and 8 months in prison, with the announcement of the verdict being postponed and supervision being applied.
3 DETAINED DEFENDANTS RELEASED
The Regional Court of Appeals 7th Criminal Chamber, which conducted the appellate review, stated that whether the crime of 'Concealing a Criminal' had occurred depended on the outcome of the main case regarding the murder of Narin Güran, and due to the fact that this case was still at the Supreme Court stage, there was a relationship of a pending issue between the two cases, and the judgments could not be finalized at this stage. The appellate decision also emphasized that the duration of detention for the defendants in prison posed a risk of turning into execution as it approached the amount of the sentenced penalty, leading to the decision to release B.G., F.G., and M.G. under the condition of a travel ban and judicial control. With this decision, there were no detained defendants left in the case.
TRIAL HAS RESUMED
On the other hand, the appeals made by the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Saadet Teacher Child Abuse Prevention Association (UCİM), which were listed as 'participants' in the case, were rejected.
After the 7th Criminal Chamber of the Regional Court of Appeals overturned the convictions of the defendants, 15 individuals began to be retried. In the resumed trial at the Diyarbakır 17th Criminal Court of First Instance, some defendants attended the hearing, while lawyers were also present in the courtroom. However, UCİM lawyers were not allowed into the hearing.
HEARING POSTPONED TO JUNE 11
The court decided to ask the 8th Heavy Criminal Court whether it had consented to the merger with the main case and postponed the hearing to June 11. Mahir Akbilek, one of the lawyers for the Güran family, stated, "The Regional Court of Appeals 7th Criminal Chamber argued that it should be merged with the main case in its decision to overturn. With today's hearing, the Diyarbakır 17th Criminal Court of First Instance has taken action to ask the 8th Heavy Criminal Court about this reason for the overturning, thus indicating its consent if there is to be a merger."