25.04.2025 10:34
The second hearing of the case regarding the murder of Narin Güran, whose lifeless body was found in a stream bed 19 days after she was killed in the Bağlar district of Diyarbakır, has begun. In this case, 15 defendants, 6 of whom are in custody, are being tried at the 17th Criminal Court of First Instance for the charge of "harboring a criminal."
On August 21, 2024, in the rural Tavşantepe neighborhood of the Bağlar district in Diyarbakır, after going missing, the lifeless body of Narin Güran was found on the 19th day of the search efforts, hidden in a stream bed inside a sack, covered with three stones weighing 30, 25, and 20 kilograms, and concealed with bushes. A case has been opened against 4 individuals at the Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court regarding Narin Güran's death.
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. Afterward, a neighbor named Nevzat Bahtiyar, who confessed to carrying the body to the stream bed, was charged with 'Intentional murder of a child in complicity,' and aggravated life imprisonment was requested. In the second hearing of the case 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.'
2 SEPARATE INDICTMENTS FOR 15 DEFENDANTS FOR 'AIDING A CRIMINAL' The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has also opened a case against detained defendants Birsen Güran, Fuat Güran, Maşallah Güran, Salim Güran's worker Mehmet Selim Atasoy, Mehmet Şevket Kaya, and Muhammed Kaya, as well as the suspects not in custody, Şeyma Kaya, Hediye Güran, İbrahim Halil Güran, Barış Güran, Kurtuluş Güran, and Ömer Faruk Güran, for the crime of 'Aiding a criminal' at the Diyarbakır 17th Criminal Court. An indictment prepared against the minors M.G. (15), İ.K. (16), and R.A. (15), who were involved in the crime, for 'Aiding a criminal' was also accepted by the Diyarbakır 2nd Juvenile Court. In the subsequent process, the two case files were merged.
DEFENSE ATTORNEYS COMPLAINED ABOUT THE COURT PRESIDENT TO THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL The first hearing of the case, where the defendants were tried at the 17th Criminal Court, was held on April 14. Attorneys from the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Saadet Teacher Child Abuse Prevention Association (UCİM) requested to participate in the case. The defense attorneys requested that the participation requests be rejected. The judge, who evaluated the request, decided to accept the participation requests. The judge also rejected the defense attorneys' request for recusal. After their defenses, the defense attorneys requested the release and acquittal of their clients. The court decided to continue the current status of the detained defendants and postponed the hearing to April 25. After the hearing, the defense attorneys complained about the court judge to the Judges and Prosecutors Council (HSK) on April 17. In the petition, it was stated that the defendants' right to remain silent and other rights were not reminded, that the prosecutor proceeded to defenses without reading the indictment, that an unrelated association was included as a participant in the case, and that the lower limit of the crime the defendants were charged with was 6 months, but the time they spent in detention exceeded 7 months, and a request was made for an investigation to be opened against the trial judge.
WITNESSES ARE BEING HEARD Six detained defendants were brought to the courthouse under security measures in the morning for the second hearing of the case. The trial of the 15 defendants, for whom prison sentences ranging from 6 months to 5 years are sought, began at the 17th Criminal Court with the hearing of witnesses.