As the investigation into the killing of eight-year-old Narin Güran continues, her family has issued a statement alleging a "conspiracy" against them.
Narin had been missing since Aug 21, and her body was found in a sack in a creek near her village on Sep 8. Currently, 10 people, including Narin's mother, uncle, and brother, are remanded in custody as part of the ongoing investigation.
Narin Güran’s mother, brother remanded in custody, father released
The family, a well-established household from the Tavşantepe village in Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey, issued a public statement in an attempt to address the accusations amid a public outcry due to the brutal killing of the child.
In their statement, the family expressed their confidence in the state's ability to find and punish the perpetrators. However, they also claimed that they have been unfairly targeted and slandered in the media and that there have been "baseless attacks” on their personal rights.
The 'strategic location' of the village
The family also suggested a conspiracy against them, saying, “We cannot imagine our family members killing our own daughters, but even if such a situation exists, we attribute the defamation of an entire family because of one person to some foreign powers and their local extensions.”
The “strategic” location of their Tavşantepe village might be a factor in the alleged conspiracy against them, they asserted.
The family vowed to take legal action against those who have slandered them.. They also called on political parties and NGOs to refrain from “politicizing” their tragedy and to await the outcome of the trial.
Baran Güran, Narin's only brother who was not taken into custody in connection with the murder, echoed these sentiments in an interview with Milliyet newspaper. "We did everything we could to find Narin," he said. "They say the family did it. If we had killed this girl among ourselves, who would have known, who would have heard?"
Baran Güran also dismissed the rumors that Narin was killed by the family because she saw his uncle and mother having an affair, saying that “I would have been the first to react to my mother” in such case.
The family’s lineage traces back to Molla Gürani, a 15th-century Sheikh al-Islam, the top religious official of the Ottoman Empire, and is being targeted due to their long-standing influence, according to Baran Güran.
Political connections
The Güran family’s status as an influential household has fueled suspicions that their influence might lead to the cover-up of the murder.
Galip Ensarioğlu, a deputy with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) representing Diyarbakır and a member of another well-established family in the city, described the family as “long-time friends of ours” following the revelation of the killing.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party formally requested a parliamentary investigation into the incident. The party asserted that Ensarioğlu's remarks could influence the investigation.
In its motion, DEM also pointed out alleged irregularities, including family members suspected to be involved in the killing participating in search efforts for the child's body.
Pro-DEM circles have also claimed that the family has close ties to the Kurdish Islamist Free Cause Party (HÜDAPAR), which the party denied. Election results from Tavşantepe village indicate that the political affiliations of the Güran family have shifted over the years, rather than demonstrating a strong allegiance to one particular movement.
In the 2023 elections, the Turkish nationalist İYİ (Good) Party, which had fielded Salim Ensarioğlu, a relative of Galip Ensarioğlu, emerged as the first party. The AKP secured the top spot in the 2018 elections, and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) held the lead in 2015.
Meanwhil, Narin's father Arif Güran denied claims regarding the family's influential status, saying that "we could have found our daughter by ourselves if we were that powerful." He spoke to the media following his release from detention on Sep 12.
The concerns have also been amplified by inconsistencies in the testimonies of key suspects to law enforcement and judicial authorities.
For example, Nezih Bahtiyar, the confessor, initially stated that he had received Narin’s body and disposed of it in the creek after being offered money by Salim Güran, who had admitted to the murder according to him. However, Bahtiyar later changed his account when speaking to prosecutors and the judge, claiming that he had been threatened by Salim Güran and was coerced into disposing of the body under duress.
Suspect confesses to dumping Narin Güran's body in creek for money
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