New evidence for the Court of Cassation: Did Narin Güran never reach her uncle's house?

A new development has emerged in the murder case of 8-year-old Narin Güran, who went missing on August 21, 2024, in the Tavşantepe neighborhood of Diyarbakır's Bağlar district, and was found dead in a sack 19 days later. Onur Akdağ, the lawyer for the uncle Salim Güran, who was convicted in the murder case, had the footage analyzed by the India-based forensic informatics firm Brilliant Forensic Investigation (BFI). The 122-page report was submitted to the Court of Cassation along with the appeal petition.

“NARİN WAS ABDUCTED NEAR NEVZAT BAHTİYAR’S HOUSE”

In the report prepared by BFI, it was observed that Narin Güran was wearing a dark-colored t-shirt and shorts and carrying a crossbody bag on her shoulder in school camera footage at 15:15:09. According to the report, which states that the camera times were ahead, the actual time was 15:11:09. It was reported that Narin then proceeded to a path, during which a large, human-sized shadow was seen near Nevzat Bahtiyar's house.

According to the report, it was determined that large and small shadows came very close at 15:19:49, and at 15:19:54, the small shadow suddenly disappeared while the large shadow moved toward the barn. These moments strengthened the claim that Narin was abducted at that point.

“NO ACTIVITY NEAR THE UNCLE’S HOUSE”

The report stated that there is no camera footage indicating that Narin Güran went to the house of her uncle, Arif Güran. It was noted that no evidence of human or vehicle activity was found in the vicinity of Arif Güran's house between 15:16 and 15:40. This finding reveals that, contrary to previous claims, the child never reached Arif Güran's house.

“NEVZAT BAHTİYAR’S STATEMENTS CONTRADICT THE FOOTAGE”

The report also included that the statement by the defendant Nevzat Bahtiyar, claiming he took Narin's lifeless body from Arif Güran's house and carried it to his barn, does not match the camera footage. It was emphasized that in the enhanced footage, Nevzat Bahtiyar is not seen on this route in any way.

The report also stated that at 15:41:27, a dark-colored, possibly red vehicle leaving the village was captured by the security camera of the Dara-2 Military Base. It was noted that this was the only vehicle to leave the village at the time of the incident.

BFI argued that the reports previously prepared by the National Criminal Bureau (UKB) and German expert Dirk Labudde contained errors in both image analysis and time synchronization. The report also emphasized that the “scientific reliability” of these studies was weak.

The prepared report was added to the appeal petition by Salim Güran's lawyer and submitted to the Court of Cassation. The petition requested the release of the client and a re-examination of the file with a hearing. Furthermore, it was stated that the neighbor Nevzat Bahtiyar should be punished not only for the crime of concealing evidence but also for “intentional killing of a child,” “sexual abuse,” and “deprivation of liberty.”

In the trial held at the Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court, mother Yüksel Güran, brother Enes Güran, and uncle Salim Güran were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment, while Nevzat Bahtiyar was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison. The decision was upheld by a majority vote by the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice on May 26. However, the presiding judge issued a dissenting opinion, stating that the evidence was examined incompletely and insufficiently, and that Bahtiyar's movements, in particular, needed to be clarified.