New development in the Narin Güran murder case: Camera footage submitted to the Court of Cassation! Critical details revealed

A critical development has occurred in the case regarding the death of 8-year-old Narin Güran, whose body was found in a sack in a stream bed 19 days after she went missing on August 21, 2024, in the Tavşantepe neighborhood of the Bağlar district in Diyarbakır. New image analyses and expert reports concerning the murder have been submitted to the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice and moved to the Court of Cassation process.

CAMERA FOOTAGE ENHANCED TO 8K RESOLUTION

Onur Akdağ, the lawyer for one of the defendants, Salim Güran, applied to the India-based firm Brilliant Forensic Investigation (BFI) to have the camera footage from the Daran-2 military base and the surrounding area enhanced abroad. Reports previously prepared by Prof. Dirk Labudde from Germany and the National Criminal Bureau were also technically reviewed.

BFI identified time discrepancies in the school and base cameras: the school camera was 4 minutes ahead, and the base camera was 6 minutes and 45 seconds ahead. In the 122-page report prepared, the images were analyzed based on human movements and shadows. The images were clarified to 8K resolution and submitted to the Court of Cassation along with an appeal petition on June 29.

“LARGE SHADOW MEETS SMALL SHADOW”

Lawyer Akdağ stated that in the footage, a large shadow, alleged to belong to Nevzat Bahtiyar, met at 15:19:49 with a small shadow walking on the path, which is stated to belong to Narin Güran; he noted that just seconds later, the small shadow disappeared and the large shadow proceeded toward the barn. The footage also includes a movement similar to Narin being dropped to the ground near the barn.

NEVZAT BAHTİYAR'S TESTIMONY CONTRADICTS THE FOOTAGE

In his previous testimony, Nevzat Bahtiyar had claimed that he took Narin's body from Arif Güran's house. However, no movement by Bahtiyar was detected on that route in the enhanced footage. The report also stated that at 15:41:27, a dark-colored vehicle, appearing to be red, left the village and that this was the only moving vehicle during the hours of the incident.

DISSENTING OPINION ON THE COURT'S DECISION

The Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court had sentenced Salim Güran, Enes Güran, and Yüksel Güran to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of 'intentional killing of a child in complicity,' while sentencing Nevzat Bahtiyar to 4 years and 6 months in prison for 'concealing evidence of a crime.' The presiding judge issued a dissenting opinion on this decision, stating that the camera records and DNA findings were not sufficiently examined and that the decision should be overturned.

Lawyer Akdağ claimed that he has been representing Salim Güran since the beginning of the investigation and that the Güran family has been criminalized without evidence. He stated that the presentation of DNA findings in the media as a target influenced the process. Akdağ said, "The contradictory statements given by Nevzat Bahtiyar were not questioned. Yet, there are very strong suspicions that he committed the murder."

NEVZAT BAHTİYAR'S PHONE WAS LIKE 'DEAD'

According to digital examination reports, it was determined that Salim Güran's phone was connected to the internet during the hours of the incident, accessing WhatsApp, Instagram, and gold price pages, and even paying bills. It was stated that Nevzat Bahtiyar's phone usage during the minutes of the incident was almost zero, remaining "silent as if dead." Akdağ said, "Because his hands were full, he was busy committing the murder."

“CLEARLY VISIBLE IN THE FOOTAGE”

Lawyer Akdağ reminded that the Daran-2 base camera operated at a very low resolution and that the recordings of the rotating cameras were deleted. The airport camera, which was not working on the day of the incident, also complicated the process. However, he said that the images were upscaled to 8K by a software engineer working in the USA, and that very clear details can now be seen.