Joint Call from 128 Figures on the Narin Güran Case
The principle of “benefit of the doubt” was disregarded
A total of 128 intellectuals, writers, journalists, academics, lawyers, and politicians — including Hasan Cemal, Oya Baydar, Cengiz Çandar, Ömer Madra, Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, Hüda Kaya, Nurcan Baysal, Murat Özbank, Sevilay Çelenk, and Şebnem Korur Fincancı — issued a joint statement regarding the Narin Güran case, which has generated widespread public attention.
The statement emphasised that serious procedural irregularities occurred during the investigation and trial process, that the principle of fair trial was undermined, and that the material truth could not be established.
The text drew attention to shortcomings in the trial process, particularly regarding the evaluation of evidence and the use of digital data, and called for the case to be reconsidered fairly. The signatories’ statement, addressed to both judicial authorities and the public, also highlighted the impact of lynching culture and media pressure on the mechanism of justice.
The full text of the statement is as follows:
For Justice and Truth: Stop the Lawlessness in the Narin Güran Case!
The killing of 8-year-old Narin Güran, who disappeared on 21 August 2024 and whose lifeless body was found 19 days later, has left a deep wound in all our hearts. Yet the investigation and prosecution conducted in the wake of this painful event, rather than uncovering the material truth, have turned into a flawed judicial practice riddled with legal violations and breaches of rights, deeply undermining the right to a fair trial.
From day one, the case gave rise to a tabloidized television journalism and social media practice driven largely by ratings concerns, gossip, and sensationalism. Many baseless scenarios were produced. The lynching culture incited by this public outcry demonized the family in the absence of any concrete evidence and stripped them of their right to a fair trial. Instead of seeking the truth, the courts handed down rulings that satisfy no conscience and rest on no concrete evidence, all but operating under the influence of this lynching culture and noise.
The PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) finding identified on Narin’s lifeless body — a finding medically capable of pointing to the suspicion of sexual contact and abuse — was a critical piece of data, yet the investigation was not adequately deepened on this point. The presence of PSA raises a strong possibility that the case may have a sexual abuse dimension. Despite this, the failure to carry out the advanced and comprehensive analyses requested to determine the source and nature of this finding represents a serious shortcoming in establishing the material truth. Leaving such a vital suspicion unaddressed has both compromised the integrity of the investigation and prevented the identification of possible perpetrators and the true nature of the crime.
One of the greatest absurdities of this case, now before the Constitutional Court, is the technical data referred to as “narrowed-base” (daraltılmış baz) analysis, which was used to justify the convictions of the defendants. Türkiye’s leading digital forensics experts have repeatedly stated that “narrowed-base” analysis does not appear in the literature, has no scientific basis, and that room-by-room location identification cannot be performed through retrospective signal measurements; they have prepared expert opinions to this effect.
Furthermore, the expert opinions submitted to the file regarding the examination of the defendants’ digital devices have made it abundantly clear that the allegations and the constructed scenario are not grounded in reality. The expert examinations have shown that digital evidence such as phone image records, background internet activity, and step-counter data does not match the alleged time of the murder or the narrow timeline that was constructed; consequently, the scenario presented to the court was demonstrated to be physically impossible and contrary to the ordinary course of life.
In addition to all these shortcomings, the court’s failure to conduct a live on-site reconstruction throughout the trial and the fact that the digital evidence used as the basis for the convictions, such as HTS records, was not transparent, reliable, or amenable to expert review, have fundamentally shaken the principles of a fair trial and the pursuit of material truth. It is unacceptable for the prosecution and the court to set aside the foundational principle of universal criminal law — in dubio pro reo (the benefit of the doubt belongs to the defendant) — and to base their judgment on assumptions and unauditable reports.
In this process, family members, foremost among them Narin’s mother Yüksel Güran, have been subjected to unjust punishment. Although there is no concrete evidence beyond reasonable doubt that the mother participated in the murder, the manufactured perception of a “guilty mother” has been turned into a judicial decision and she has been sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment.
While even the reasoned judgment itself acknowledges that the motive for the murder could not be determined, the lives of three family members have been ruined on the basis of assumptions.
Demands
We, the undersigned, demand:
- That the true perpetrators and motive of the Narin Güran murder be uncovered through concrete and verifiable scientific evidence beyond reasonable doubt;
- That the verdicts based on flawed and unauditable digital data such as “narrowed-base” analysis — which experts have rejected as “unscientific” — be overturned;
- That the influence of lynching culture and media pressure on the judiciary be eliminated; and that, through a new on-site reconstruction and an independent review of the evidence, those who have been wronged — foremost among them the mother Yüksel Güran — be retried fairly.
In this painful event that has touched the entire country, we will not allow the truth to be buried or the process to be surrendered to lynching culture. In the face of this picture that deeply offends the sense of justice, we remind everyone that it is of vital importance for judicial assessments to rest on the strongest and most objective evidence; and we call upon the relevant individuals and institutions to take responsibility.
Signatories
- Abdulbaki Erdoğmuş, 21st Term Member of Parliament, Writer
- Abdullah Demirbaş, Politician, Writer
- Ahmet Değer, Writer
- Ahmet Faruk Ünsal, 22nd Term Member of Parliament
- Ahmet Kaya, Politician
- Ahmet Muhtar Çakmak, Academic, Writer
- Akın Olgun, Journalist, Writer
- Ali Bayramoğlu, Academic, Writer
- Ali Duran Topuz, Journalist, Writer
- Ali Kemal Erdem, Journalist, Writer
- Arap Karaduman, Writer
- Atakan Sönmez, Journalist, Writer
- Ayça Örer, Journalist, Writer
- Ayça Söylemez, Journalist, Writer
- Ayşegül Başar, Journalist
- Ayşe Hür, Researcher, Writer
- Ayşe Semiha Baban, Academic, Writer
- Ayşenur Arslan, Journalist, Writer
- Azizcan Erenkol, Politician
- Baskın Oran, Academic, Writer
- Barış Yarkadaş, Journalist, 25th and 26th Term Member of Parliament
- Binnaz Toprak, Academic, 24th Term Member of Parliament
- Bülent Kaya, 28th Term Member of Parliament
- Bülent Kaygun, Member of the İBB and Üsküdar Municipal Councils
- Cahit Öztürün, Journalist, Writer
- Can Fırat Acısu, Writer
- Cegerğun Polat, Doctor
- Celalettin Can, Journalist, Writer
- Cemile Bayraktar, Journalist, Writer
- Cenap Ekinci, Doctor
- Cengiz Çandar, Journalist, 28th Term Member of Parliament
- Cihan Ölmez, Journalist
- Cihangir İslam, Academic, 27th Term Member of Parliament
- Çağdaş Gökbel, Journalist, Writer
- Çetin Sağsöz, Journalist, Writer
- Derya Kap, Journalist, Writer
- Doğan Bermek, NGO Director, Writer
- Duygu Delibaş, Lawyer
- Emine Uşaklıgil, Journalist, Writer
- Emin Vahap Şimşek, Lawyer
- Enes Atila Pay, Journalist
- Erdal Avcı, Politician
- Erol Köroğlu, Academic, Writer
- Esra Koç, Human Rights and Women’s Rights Activist, Writer
- Esranur Bayır, Human Rights Defender
- Etyen Mahçuyan, Journalist, Writer
- Evrim Kepenek, Journalist, Writer
- Ezgi İpek, Lawyer
- Fatma Akdokur, Academic, Writer
- Fatma Bostan Ünsal, Academic, Politician
- Fethiye Çetin, Lawyer, Writer
- Fevzi Bulgan, Dilkurd General Coordinator
- Gencay Gürsoy, Academic, Writer
- Gülayşe Koçak, Author, Writer
- Gürhan Ertür, Radio Host
- Hacer Ansal, Academic, Writer
- Hakan Ürün, Lawyer
- Harun Akdere, Lawyer
- Hasan Cemal, Journalist, Writer
- Hatice Yıldız, Lawyer
- Haydar Ekinek, Painter
- Hilal Cura, Psychologist
- Hilal Seven, Journalist
- Hüda Kaya, 25th, 26th and 27th Term Member of Parliament
- İbrahim Betil, NGO Director
- İdil Özkan, Writer
- İlhami Işık, Journalist, Writer
- İzel Sezer, Journalist
- Jeffrey Wade Gibbs, Author, Writer
- Kamuran Demirel, DEM Party Üsküdar District Manager
- Kemal Avcı, Journalist, Television Host
- Kemal Aytaç, Lawyer
- Kemal Can, Journalist, Writer
- Lale Mansur, Theater and Film Actor
- Levent Mazılıgüney, Digital Forensics Expert, Lawyer, Engineer
- Mehmet Emin Aktar, Lawyer, Former President of the Diyarbakır Bar Association
- Mehmet Bekaroğlu, 21st, 25th and 26th Term Member of Parliament
- Mehmet Emin Ekmen, Lawyer, 23rd and 28th Term Member of Parliament
- Mehmet Güç, Journalist, Writer
- Metin V. Bayrak, Academic, Writer
- Melek Borak, Human Rights Defender
- Miham Akkul, Writer
- Muharrem Erbey, Lawyer, Writer
- Murat Özbank, Academic, Writer
- Mustafa Kağan Öztürk, Lawyer
- Mustafa Pacal, Writer
- Müslüm Doğan, Former Minister, NGO Director
- Müslüm Yücel, Journalist, Writer
- Necmiye Alpay, Academic, Writer
- Nejla Cortese, Software Engineer
- Nesrin Nas, Writer, 21st Term Member of Parliament
- Nesrin Sungur Çakmak, Academic, Writer
- Nil Mutluer, Academic, Writer
- Nur Azaklı, Doctor
- Nurcan Baysal, Journalist, Writer
- Nurhan Çetinkaya, Businessperson, Writer
- Nuri Karakaş, Human Rights Defender
- Nurten Ertuğrul, Journalist, Writer
- Nurettin Turgay, Academic, Writer
- Onur Erkan, Journalist
- Osman Can, Academic, 25th Term Member of Parliament
- Oya Baydar, Academic, Writer
- Ömer Ceylan, Human Rights Defender
- Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, 27th and 28th Term Member of Parliament
- Ömer Madra, Academic, Writer
- Rana Polat Sönmez, Journalist
- Rojda Altıntaş, Journalist
- Saim Eroğlu, Human Rights Defender
- Sait Çetinoğlu, Academic, Writer
- Sena Kaleli, 24th Term Member of Parliament
- Sevda İslamzade, Doctor
- Sevilay Çelenk, Academic, 28th Term Member of Parliament
- Serdar Kangallı, Writer
- Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Former President of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), Member of the Board of the Human Rights Foundation of Türkiye (TİHV)
- Şirin Bayık, Journalist
- Tayfun Atay, Academic, Writer
- Temel İskit, Retired Ambassador, Journalist, Writer
- Türkan Elçi, Lawyer, 28th Term Member of Parliament
- Ümit Aktaş, Writer
- Veysel Demirpençe, Writer
- Veysi Ceri, Child Psychiatrist
- Veysi Eski, Lawyer
- Yavuz Yıldız, Human Rights Defender
- Yunus Öztürk, Sociologist, Writer
- Yusuf Alataş, Lawyer
- Yıldıray Oğur, Journalist, Writer
- Zeynep Çakmakçı, Lawyer
- Zehra Arat, Academic, Writer