Retrial request in the Narin Güran case

Concerns continue to grow regarding the case of 8-year-old Narin Güran, who lost her life in Diyarbakır two years ago. Güran's relatives and representatives of civil society organizations, who gathered in Şişhane, Istanbul, emphasized contradictions in the file in light of new findings and independent expert reports, and called for justice.

Lorin Melek Borak read the press statement on behalf of the "Justice for Narin and Her Family Platform." Borak stated that there are still many unresolved inconsistencies in the file and expressed that a fair and independent judicial process must begin anew.

It was stated that the technical evaluations conducted during the trial phase of the file of little Narin, whose lifeless body was found shortly after she went missing two years ago, are open to debate.

"We have gathered here not only to commemorate a lost child, but to make our conscience heard in the face of a process where justice has fallen short," it was stated.

Representatives speaking on behalf of the family claimed that the base station records, as well as camera and digital examinations in the technical file, were unreliable according to independent expert opinions, and further alleged that while evidence against them was taken into account, technical results in favor of the family were ignored. Borak placed particular emphasis on the statement: "A mother, an uncle, and a brother have been convicted based on the constantly changing statements of a person whose contact with the body is established."

The statement argued that Forensic Medicine reports contained findings suggesting suspicion of abuse, but that this important detail was not evaluated as required throughout the trial: "Although the findings regarding PSA detection were evaluated by experts as an indicator of abuse, this issue was not sufficiently discussed during the trial process, and a serious gap was left regarding the motive for the murder."

While it was claimed that the mobile and digital data presented by the family's relatives do not support the accusations, it was noted that new technical analyses show that the convicted individuals were at their homes at the time of the incident.

Furthermore, it was stated that "Expert reports and witness statements were excluded during the trial process." Platform members reacted by stating that the current trial involves a fundamental violation of rights, declaring: "The right to a fair trial has been usurped, and the presumption of innocence has been trampled upon."

Sharing their demands, the platform highlighted the following points:

• The file should be re-examined by independent and impartial experts
• All technical evidence regarding the investigation process should be reviewed again with transparency
• Evidence found in favor of the family should be taken into account in the file
• Existing contradictions should be fully clarified
• A crime scene reconstruction should be conducted
• The judicial process should be cleared of public and media pressure