Many names including intellectuals, writers, journalists, lawyers, politicians and artists have issued a statement on the trial regarding the murder of Narin Güran.
‘For justice and truth: Stop the unlawfulness in the Narin Güran case’, the statement reads as follows
“The death of 8-year-old Narin Güran, who disappeared on August 21, 2024 and whose lifeless body was found 19 days later, has left a deep wound in all of our hearts. However, rather than revealing the material truth, the investigation and prosecution processes carried out after this painful incident have turned into a problematic trial practice full of illegalities and rights violations, deeply damaging the right to a fair trial.
‘THE POSSIBILITY OF A FAIR TRIAL USURPED’
Since the first day, the incident has led to a tabloidized television journalism and social media practice that has surrendered to ratings, gossip and sensationalism. Many baseless scenarios were created. The lynch culture provoked by the outrage in question demonized the family without any concrete evidence and usurped the possibility of a fair trial. Instead of seeking the truth, the courts, under the influence of this lynch culture and noise, have signed decisions that do not satisfy the conscience and are not based on concrete evidence.
‘CRITICAL DATA FOUND ON NARİN'S BODY NOT INVESTIGATED SUFFICIENTLY’
Although the PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) finding on Narin's lifeless body, which could medically indicate sexual contact and abuse, is a critical piece of data, the investigation has not been sufficiently deepened in this regard. The presence of PSA raises a strong possibility that there may be a sexual abuse dimension to this incident. Nevertheless, the failure to carry out the requested further and comprehensive analysis to determine the source and nature of this finding is a serious deficiency in terms of uncovering the material truth. Leaving such a vital suspicion unanswered not only undermined the integrity of the investigation but also prevented the possible perpetrators and the true nature of the crime from being revealed.
‘ACCORDING TO FORENSIC INFORMATICS EXPERTS, ‘NARROWED BASE ANALYSIS’ DOES NOT EXIST IN THE LITERATURE’
One of the biggest oddities of this case, which is currently at the Constitutional Court stage, is the technical data called ‘narrowed base’, which was used to justify the conviction of the defendants. Leading forensic informatics experts of our country have repeatedly stated that the ‘narrowed base’ analysis does not exist in the literature, that it has no scientific equivalent, that room-by-room location cannot be made with retrospective signal measurements, and have prepared expert opinions on this subject.
‘THE SCENARIO PRESENTED TO THE COURT IS CONTRARY TO THE ORDINARY COURSE OF LIFE’
Furthermore, the expert opinions submitted to the file regarding the digital device examinations of the defendants clearly show that the allegations and the scenario put forward are untrue. In the examinations conducted by the experts, it was revealed that digital evidence such as phone image records, background internet activity and pedometer data do not match the alleged time of the murder and the narrow timeline constructed, and therefore the scenario presented to the court is physically impossible and contrary to the ordinary course of life.
In addition to all these deficiencies, the fact that the court did not conduct live discovery at the scene of the incident throughout the trial and that the digital evidence such as the HTS records taken as the basis for the conviction were not transparent, reliable and auditable by experts, fundamentally undermined the principles of a fair trial and access to the material truth. It is unacceptable for the prosecution and the court to have made a judgment on the basis of assumptions and unverifiable reports, by shelving the principle of ‘the accused benefits from the doubt’ (in dubio pro reo), which is a fundamental principle of universal criminal law.
In this process, unjust punishment was meted out against family members, particularly Narin's mother Yüksel Güran. Although there is no concrete, beyond doubt evidence that the mother participated in the murder, the perception of the ‘guilty mother’ was transformed into a judicial decision and she was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment. Even in the reasoned verdict itself, it was admitted that the motive for the murder could not be determined, while the lives of three family members were destroyed based on assumptions.
‘THE REAL PERPETRATORS OF NARYN GHAN'S MURDER MUST BE REVEALED’
We, the undersigned, demand that the real perpetrators and motive of Narin Güran's murder be revealed with concrete and auditable scientific evidence that is beyond doubt; that the convictions based on faulty and unverifiable digital data such as ‘narrowed base’, which experts reject as ‘unscientific’, be annulled; that the influence of lynch culture and media pressure on the judiciary be eliminated; and that a fair retrial of those who have been wronged, especially the mother Yüksel Güran, be held through a re-discovery at the crime scene and an independent audit of the evidence. We will not allow the truth to be covered up and the process to be handed over to the lynch culture in this painful incident that has caused sensitivity throughout the country. In the face of this picture, which deeply hurts the sense of justice, we remind that it is vital that evaluations in judicial processes are based on the strongest and most objective evidence; we invite the relevant persons and institutions to take responsibility.”
The signatories of the declaration are as follows:
- Abdulbaki Erdoğmuş, 21st Term MP, Author
- Abdullah Demirbas, Politician, Author
- Ahmet Değer, Author
- Ahmet Faruk Ünsal, 22nd Term MP
- Ahmet Kaya, Politician
- Ahmet Muhtar Çakmak, Academician, Author
- Akın Olgun, Journalist, Author
- Ali Bayramoğlu, Academician, Author
- Ali Duran Topuz, Journalist, Author
- Ali Kemal Erdem, Journalist, Author
- Arap Karaduman, Author
- Atakan Sonmez, Journalist, Author
- Ayça Örer, Journalist, Author
- Ayça Söylemez, Journalist, Author
- Ayşegül Başar, Journalist
- Ayşe Hür, Researcher, Author
- Ayşe Semiha Baban, Academician, Author
- Ayşenur Arslan, Journalist, Writer
- Azizcan Erenkol, Politician
- Baskın Oran, Academician, Author
- Barış Yarkadaş, Journalist, 25th and 26th Term MP
- Binnaz Toprak, Academician, 24th Term MP
- Bülent Kaya, 28th Term MP
- Bülent Kaygun, IBB and Üsküdar Municipality Council Member
- Cahit Öztürün, Journalist, Author
- Can Fırat Acısu, Author
- Cegerun Polat, Doctor
- Celalettin Can, Journalist, Author
- Cemile Bayraktar, Journalist, Author
- Cenap Ekinci, Doctor
- Cengiz Çandar, Journalist, 28th Term MP
- Cihan Ölmez, Journalist
- Cihangir Islam, Academician, 27th Term MP
- Çağdaş Gökbel, Journalist, Author
- Çetin Sağsöz, Journalist, Author
- Derya Kap, Journalist, Author
- Doğan Bermek, NGO Manager, Author
- Duygu Delibas, Lawyer
- Emine Uşaklıgil, Journalist, Author
- Emin Vahap Şimşek, Lawyer
- Enes Atila Pay, Journalist
- Erdal Avcı, Politician
- Erol Köroğlu, Academician, Author
- Esra Koç, Human Rights and Women's Rights Activist, Author
- Esranur Bayır, Rights Defender
- Etyen Mahchuyan, Journalist, Author
- Evrim Kepenek, Journalist, Author
- Ezgi Ipek, Lawyer
- Fatma Akdokur, Academician, Author
- Fatma Bostan Ünsal, Academician, Politician
- Fethiye Çetin, Lawyer, Author
- Fevzi Bulgan, Dilkurd General Coordinator
- Gencay Gürsoy, Academician, Author
- Gülayşe Koçak, Writer, Author
- Gürhan Ertür, Radio Programmer
- Hacer Ansal, Academician, Author
- Hakan Ürün, Lawyer
- Harun Akdere, Lawyer
- Hasan Cemal, Journalist, Author
- Hatice Yildiz, Lawyer
- Haydar Ekinek, Painter
- Hilal Cura, Psychologist
- Hilal Seven, Journalist
- Hüda Kaya, 25th, 26th and 27th Term MP
- İbrahim Betil, NGO Director
- İdil Özkan, Author
- İlhami Işık, Journalist, Author
- Izel Sezer, Journalist
- Jeffrey Wade Gibbs, Writer, Author
- Kamuran Demirel, DEM Party Üsküdar District Executive
- Kemal Avcı, Journalist, Television Programmer
- Kemal Aytaç, Lawyer
- Kemal Can, Journalist, Author
- Lale Mansur, Theater and Cinema Actress
- Levent Mazılıgüney, Forensic Informatics Expert, Lawyer, Engineer
- Mehmet Emin Aktar, Lawyer, Former President of the Diyarbakır Bar Association
- Mehmet Bekaroğlu, 21st, 25th and 26th Term MP
- Mehmet Emin Ekmen, Lawyer, 23rd and 28th Term MP
- Mehmet Güç, Journalist, Author
- Metin V. Bayrak, Academician, Author
- Melek Borak, Rights Defender
- Miham Akkul, Academician, Author
- Muharrem Erbey, Lawyer, Author
- Murat Özbank, Academician, Author
- Mustafa Kağan Öztürk, Lawyer
- Mustafa Pacal, Author
- Müslüm Doğan, Former Minister, NGO Executive
- Müslüm Yücel, Journalist, Author
- Necmiye Alpay, Academician, Writer
- Nejla Cortese, Software Engineer
- Nesrin Nas, Writer, 21st Term MP
- Nesrin Sungur Çakmak, Academician, Author
- Nil Mutluer, Academician, Author
- Nur Azaklı, Doctor
- Nurcan Baysal, Journalist, Author
- Nurhan Çetinkaya, Businessperson, Author
- Nuri Karakas, Rights Defender
- Nurten Ertuğrul, Journalist, Author
- Nurettin Turgay, Academician, Author
- Onur Erkan, Journalist
- Osman Can, Academician, 25th Term MP
- Oya Baydar, Academician, Writer
- Ömer Ceylan, Rights Defender
- Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, 27th and 28th Term MP
- Ömer Madra, Academician, Author
- Rana Polat Sönmez, Journalist
- Rojda Altintas, Journalist
- Saim Eroğlu, Rights Defender
- Sait Çetinoğlu, Academician, Author
- Sena Kaleli, 24th Term MP
- Sevda Islamzade, Doctor
- Sevilay Çelenk, Academician, 28th Term MP
- Serdar Kangalli, Author
- Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Former President of the TMA, HRFT Board Member Board Member
- Şirin Bayık, Journalist
- Tayfun Atay, Academician, Author
- Temel İskit, Retired Ambassador, Journalist, Author
- Türkan Elçi, Lawyer, 28th Term MP
- Ümit Aktaş, Author
- Veysel Demirpençe, Author
- Veysi Ceri, Child Psychiatrist
- Veysi Eski, Lawyer
- Yavuz Yildiz, Rights Defender
- Yunus Öztürk, Sociologist, Author
- Yusuf Alatas, Lawyer
- Yıldıray Oğur, Journalist, Author
- Zeynep Çakmakçı, Lawyer
- Zehra Arat, Academician, Author