The second hearing has begun in the trial of four defendants held in custody, charged with aggravated life imprisonment for the murder of 8-year-old Narin Güran in Diyarbakır, southeastern Türkiye.
For the hearing at the 8th High Criminal Court, the detained defendants were brought to Diyarbakır Courthouse from Diyarbakır Penitentiary Campus under strict security measures using prison transfer vehicles.
Police barriers were placed in front of the Diyarbakır Courthouse as part of the security measures. Those attending the hearing were admitted to the courtroom after undergoing searches at two separate points inside and outside the courthouse.
The defendants in custody, mother Yüksel, brother Enes and uncle Salim Güran, along with Nevzat Bahtiyar, who confessed to hiding Narin’s lifeless body in Eğertutmaz Creek, were present at the hearing alongside their lawyers.
The hearing began with the identification of witnesses and is being recorded on camera.
Father Arif Güran participated as a “complainant,” while one detained and two other individuals attended as “witnesses.” Lawyers representing the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Diyarbakır Bar Association were also present as “complainant institutions.”
Additionally, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Human Rights Investigation Commission and the representative of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Osmaniye deputy Derya Yanık, attended the hearing with commission member deputies.
The incident
Narin Güran, who went missing on Aug. 21 in the Tavşantepe neighborhood of Bağlar district, Diyarbakır, was found dead on Sept. 8 in Eğertutmaz Creek.
During the investigation conducted by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, 23 suspects were detained. Among them, 12 individuals, including Narin’s mother, Yüksel, brother Enes, uncle Salim Güran and their neighbor Nevzat Bahtiyar, were arrested.
The investigation into Yüksel, Enes and Salim Güran, as well as Nevzat Bahtiyar, was concluded. An indictment seeking aggravated life imprisonment for the four defendants on charges of “intentional murder of a child in collaboration” was prepared and accepted by the Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court on Oct. 23.
The trial began on Nov. 7, and the first hearing lasted three days. On Nov. 26, the court ruled to continue the defendants’ detention and adjourned the trial to Dec. 26.
Following the initial hearing, the prosecutor submitted a 14-page opinion to the court between sessions.
For the second hearing, the court ordered the compulsory attendance of Uncle Erhan Güran and Shepherd Ahmet A., as well as the transfer of the detained 15-year-old suspect, R.A., who is the employee of Uncle Salim Güran, from prison.