Confessor Nevzat Bahtiyar changes his statement: 'Salim Güran threatened me'

Nevzat B. (48), one of the 24 suspects detained as part of the investigation and arrested for "complicity in the intentional killing of a child," claimed in his statement to the criminal judgeship of peace that he was threatened with death by uncle Salim Güran.

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Confessor Nevzat Bahtiyar changes his statement: 'Salim Güran threatened me'

Nevzat B., who confessed to hiding Narin Güran's lifeless body in the stream and was subsequently arrested, alleged in his statement to the criminal judgeship of peace that uncle Salim Güran, who was arrested on September 2, threatened him by saying, "I killed Arif's daughter, and you will take this body and dispose of it. Otherwise, I will kill you and your family."

The investigation conducted by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into the death of Narin Güran, who went missing on August 21 in the Tavşantepe neighborhood of the central Bağlar district and whose lifeless body was found in the Eğertutmaz Stream on September 8, is ongoing.

'IT IS TRUE THAT HE SAID "I KILLED ARIF'S DAUGHTER"'

Nevzat B. explained the following regarding the incident:

"I remember putting a stone on top of Narin's body when I left it by the side of the stream. I placed the sack containing the body at the base of a natural rock by the water and put a stone on it. Looking from the outside, it was not clear that there was anything there. The statement I gave to the prosecutor's office, where Salim said to me, 'I killed Arif's daughter, and you will take this body and dispose of it. Otherwise, I will kill you and your family,' is true. I had not mentioned this in my previous statement because I was afraid of Salim Güran."

"I PLACED IT INSIDE THE SACK"

Stating that he and the village headman (muhtar) Salim Güran placed Narin's body into his own vehicle on the day of the incident, the suspect said, "Later, I placed Narin's body into the sack by myself at my own residence."

Describing that he noticed Salim Güran was uneasy during the search efforts for Narin, Nevzat B. noted the following in his statement:

"I do not remember seeing such uneasiness in anyone else. During the search activities, Salim and the gendarmerie personnel accompanying him came to look at the old well in my mother's courtyard. After I buried Narin's body, this was the first time I came face-to-face with Salim there. Since there were gendarmerie personnel present, he did not ask me anything. Other than this, none of Narin's relatives asked me anything about Narin's body. I had previously deleted my call logs because they were increasing. I deleted my logs regarding the day of the incident myself. No one suggested or advised me to do so. I regret this situation."

HE HAD PREVIOUSLY SAID 'HE OFFERED 200 THOUSAND LIRA'

In his statement to the gendarmerie, Bahtiyar had alleged that uncle Salim Güran asked him to leave the small child's lifeless body in the stream in exchange for 200 thousand lira.

Stating that he works as a plasterer, that there was an interruption in the tap water at their homes, and that he called the village headman Salim Güran to ask for help, Nevzat Bahtiyar had made the following declarations:

"I left my house in my vehicle. I saw Salim Güran coming behind me in a white vehicle. This location is the internal village road paved with cobblestones leading from the cemetery towards the Tavşantepe neighborhood. Salim Güran honked and flashed his lights. I waited, thinking he would tell me something about the drinking water. Salim Güran got out of his vehicle and came towards mine. I also got out of the vehicle. Salim Güran showed me something wrapped in a blanket on the front passenger seat of his vehicle with his hand and said, 'You will dispose of this.' I approached what he was pointing at, and when I looked and realized it was a motionless person wrapped in a blanket, I was surprised and hesitated. Salim Güran said, 'Think well about your family. I will give you 200 thousand lira. Do you have a bag in your vehicle?'"

"GAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT HE IS TRYING TO PROTECT CERTAIN SUSPECTS"

In the decision of the duty criminal judgeship of peace, it was stated that Nevzat B. confessed to putting the body of Narin Güran, which was handed to him by the other suspect Salim Güran, into a sack and burying it by the stream, and it was noted that "due to the suspect leaving some questions unanswered or vague despite confessing to a part of the incident, he gave the impression that he was trying to protect certain suspects, and the suspect's statements contain partial contradictions."

The decision recorded the following:

"Considering that the investigation has not yet been completed and evaluating the entire scope of the file, it is understood that there are valid grounds for suspicion as stipulated in Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, strong evidence as stated in Article 19 of the Constitution, and concrete evidence indicating strong criminal suspicion as stipulated in Article 100/1 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK); given the lower and upper limits of the penalty prescribed by law for the alleged crime, the fact that the alleged crime is among the catalog crimes specified in Article 100/3 of the CMK, the high probability of the suspect fleeing based on the expected penalty, the proportionality of the arrest measure, and the understanding that judicial control would be insufficient at this stage, it has been decided to arrest the suspect in accordance with Article 100 and subsequent articles of the CMK."

The proceedings for 23 suspects are ongoing as part of the investigation in which Salim Güran and Nevzat B. were arrested.

News Source: AA