Statement from the Ministry of Family and Social Services on Narin Güran: 'One of the most interesting hearings'

Özge Aydiş Toy, General Director of Legal Services at the Ministry of Family and Social Services, and Ayşegül Yıldırım Kara, General Director of Child Services, gave presentations at the Parliamentary Research Commission on Violence and Abuse Against Children.

General Director of Legal Services Özge Aydiş Toy stated that the ministry has promptly initiated intervention processes in many cases involving crimes against women and children under Law No. 6284.

Toy said, "The number of criminal cases in which we have intervened is 60,645. In 2024 alone, we intervened in 20,283 cases; these are, of course, ongoing cases. Naturally, we also have other cases we are following on behalf of our ministry. Cases we follow in this scope make up 51.26 percent of our workload."

"A CITIZEN IS DRINKING TEA THERE, BUT SOMEONE IS BEING TRIED FOR AGGRAVATED LIFE IMPRISONMENT"

Stating that they had been working in the village since the moment news of Narin Güran's disappearance was received in Diyarbakır, Toy said:

"I have been a lawyer for 19 years, and the Narin Güran file was one of the most interesting hearings I have ever seen. There was a significant audience. There was an environment where I did not expect the defendants to make sincere statements; hundreds of people were standing, listening to the defendants while drinking tea. I mean, I was very surprised; it became one of the turning-point hearings of my professional life. A citizen is drinking tea there; but someone is being tried for aggravated life imprisonment there, and we are listening to him. But I also understand the court; if they hadn't let enough people in, they would have been accused of not being transparent. It was a difficult hearing."

"THE FAMILY DID NOT LET OUR PERSONNEL INTO THE VILLAGE"

Pointing out that there was serious labeling, a negative labeling, of the 'Güran family, Güran family,' Toy continued:

"We identified 158 children in this village, and we identified 50-something children from the Güran family. We obtained court-ordered protective measures for some of them. After a point, we could not implement them; because the family started not letting our personnel into the village. I mean, the balance between public support and public pressure regarding this case was very critical, and we monitored it in a very critical way. I took the floor at the hearing and made a call for common sense, especially to those watching, those providing information to the outside, and reporters; I said, 'Please, there are other children in this family, and the family is not letting us meet with the other children; our colleagues could not even enter the village.'"

"I REQUESTED FROM THE FAMILY AND THE DEFENDANTS"

"During the hearing, I requested from the family and the defendants' lawyers; 'Allow us to meet with these children; because they also need to recover.' After a point, Narin was no longer the only victim in this file. After the second hearing, our colleagues are now going to the village. In fact, I am in that WhatsApp group; they even returned from the village just now, and they are now able to implement measures for the children; counseling, etc. Of course, I do not have information about that expertise and professional work, what they are talking about in that context, or what kind of work is being done; but at least we can now make contact, we can implement court orders in the village."

General Director of Child Services Ayşegül Yıldırım Kara also stated that according to TUIK figures at the end of 2023, children made up 22 million 206 thousand 34 of the approximately 85 million population.

Kara said, "In 2080, we will only be able to classify 1 out of every 5 people as under 18, that is, as a child. Therefore, it seems that we will be deprived of a population structure and the possibility of renewal that will ensure the healthy continuation of this society, to whom we can entrust our future."