02.07.2025 17:48
After 19 days of being missing, the lifeless body of Narin Güran was found in a riverbed in Diyarbakır. In relation to her murder, the Diyarbakır Bar Association stated that the 4 years and 6 months prison sentence given to the defendant Nevzat Bahtiyar is insufficient and filed an appeal to the Court of Cassation. In the Bar Association's appeal petition, it was emphasized that Bahtiyar should receive a life sentence, just like the other defendants.
On August 21, 2024, in the rural Tavşantepe neighborhood of the Bağlar district, after going missing, the lifeless body of Narin Güran was found on the 19th day of the search efforts, hidden in a sack in the riverbed, covered with three stones weighing 30, 25, and 20 kilograms, and concealed by bushes. A case was filed against four individuals at the Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court regarding Narin Güran's death. Uncle Salim Güran, who had DNA and hair samples belonging to Narin in his vehicle, along with mother Yüksel Güran and brother Enes Güran, were detained, and neighbor Nevzat Bahtiyar, who confessed to transporting the body to the riverbed, was charged with 'intentional murder of a child in complicity,' facing aggravated life imprisonment. In the second hearing of the trial held on December 28, Salim Güran, Enes Güran, and Yüksel Güran were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for 'intentional murder of a child in complicity,' while Nevzat Bahtiyar received a 4-year and 6-month prison sentence for 'destruction, concealment, or alteration of evidence.'
THE SENTENCE GIVEN BY THE COURT WAS UPHELD BY A MAJORITY VOTE
The lawyers of the detained defendants, the lawyers of the complainant, father Arif Güran, and the appeal petitions submitted by the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Diyarbakır Bar Association were examined at the Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court. The case file, consisting of 17 folders, along with the appeal applications, was sent to the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Appeal for evaluation. The 1st Criminal Chamber of the Regional Court of Appeal, which reviewed the file and applications, upheld the prison sentences given to the four defendants by a majority vote in its decision on May 26. Additionally, the Court President also stated the reasons for the decision. In his dissenting opinion, the Court President noted that the camera recordings, base reports, and DNA findings in the file were inadequately and insufficiently examined, emphasizing that the movements of Nevzat Bahtiyar needed to be clarified through detailed video analysis. He highlighted that the assumption that the mother, brother, and uncle collectively and quickly killed Narin was contrary to reason and the ordinary course of life. Furthermore, he expressed that critical evidence such as PSA and hair samples had not been sufficiently investigated scientifically, and due to all these inadequate examinations, the decision should be overturned.
"NEVZAT BAHTIYAR SHOULD ALSO RECEIVE LIFE IMPRISONMENT"
The Diyarbakır Bar Association stated that the 4-year and 6-month prison sentence given to defendant Nevzat Bahtiyar was insufficient and filed an appeal to the Court of Cassation. In the appeal petition prepared by the Bar, it was stated that defendant Nevzat Bahtiyar was involved in the murder with the intent of complicity along with the other defendants, and it was noted that the sentence given was inadequate. The petition emphasized that Bahtiyar was present at the crime scene, played an active role in transporting the body, and maintained contact with the other defendants afterward. It was expressed that when all evidence was evaluated together, Bahtiyar should also be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for 'intentional murder of a child.' The petition included the following statements: "The first-instance court's acceptance that defendant Nevzat Bahtiyar also killed the victim Narin Güran with the intent of complicity with the other defendants, and the ruling that Nevzat should be punished for 'intentional murder of a child' instead of being punished for 'destruction, concealment, or alteration of evidence' is erroneous.
For this reason, an appeal was made against the local court's decision dated December 28, 2024, regarding the classification of the crime concerning defendant Nevzat Bahtiyar, as it was deemed erroneous considering the evidence in the file. The decision of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Appeal's 1st Criminal Chamber dated May 20, 2025, with case number 2025/666 and decision number 2025/1428, was made to reject our appeal as stated above. The Regional Court of Appeal also accepted that defendant Nevzat Bahtiyar killed the victim Narin Güran with the intent of complicity with the other defendants, and it is erroneous to uphold the ruling that he should be punished for 'destruction, concealment, or alteration of evidence' instead of for 'intentional murder of a child.' Therefore, it has become necessary to appeal against the decision of the Regional Court of Appeal regarding the classification of the crime concerning defendant Nevzat Bahtiyar without evaluating our appeal in this regard.
The Bar also objected to the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Appeal's decision to dismiss the Bar's request to participate in the case. In the petition, it was argued that the rejection of the participation request was unlawful, stating that the Bar's involvement in the case played an active role in the judicial process and contributed to the principle of fair trial.