Testimony of Enes Güran
Presiding Judge
Presiding Judge : Yes, Enes, you have heard the accusations. You are aware of the indictment against you. You know your legal rights. You have a lawyer, you have lawyers. Let me remind you once again of the same matter. You have the right not to answer our questions. You may say, “I am exercising my right to remain silent.” You have the right to express yourself in any way you wish. The microphone is yours; I’m listening. What do you say? You speak, we’ll…
Enes Güran : Should I tell my entire statement?
Presiding Judge : Start from the beginning, tell whatever you wish to explain.
Enes Güran : I came from Arguvan, Malatya. I was an excavator operator. On the 20th of the month, I came home. I arrived home around half past one at night. My father picked me up from the bus terminal. Then my father went up to the roof to sleep. I heated up the meal my mother had prepared for me. I started eating. My mother came down from the roof. She kissed me. While she was heating the meal—sorry, while I was heating the meal—my mother came, she kissed me. She sat for a while. Then she went back up to the roof; I heated my food and ate. In the morning, I woke up around seven-thirty. When I woke up, I saw my mother inside, I saw Muhammed and Eren. I sat with them. Eren came, sat on my lap, we talked together, and later my father Arif Güran, my brother Baran Güran and Narin Güran came down from the roof. After that my mother went to prepare food for us. She cooked, left the meal. Muzaffer Güran came and joined us for lunch. After we ate and everyone got up, I heard that my father and Muzaffer Güran would go to Batman; my father and Muzaffer Güran left for Batman. My brother said he would take his wife shopping. At that time, it was just my mother, Muhammed, Eren and Narin at home. We were sitting, watching TV, the air conditioner was on, it was hot outside, so we didn’t go out. Then I noticed my mother leaving the house, holding a washbasin—we call it “teşti.” Since I came from Arguvan in Malatya, all my clothes were dirty. My mother was taking them to Hediye Güran. I told her okay. She left. Then Muhammed, Eren, Narin and I stayed home. We sat, watched TV. As it got late, we started to call my mother so she could come prepare dinner. Then my mother came later and prepared food for us. Around 12 o’clock we sat for lunch. We ate. After the meal I sat on the couch. Narin came next to me. I was on social media; she was watching me. Then I noticed Narin looking at the clock. When I turned around, she was checking the time. She said to my mother, “It’s one o’clock, mom, I’m late for the mosque, I’ll go.” My mother said, “It’s hot, don’t go today.” Narin said, “Hatice and Fatma are going, so I’ll go too.” My mother said okay, then Narin got up and left. I didn’t see Narin again. Later, since I went to bed late and woke up early, I was very sleepy. After about five minutes, I lay down on the couch and slept. Around four o’clock I woke up. While sleeping, someone had called me—Şahin from Malatya, a friend from Arguvan. He called me while I was asleep and then hung up. Around four I woke up. I saw my mother and Hediye Güran. They were chatting. Muhammed was sleeping. I said to my aunt, “Welcome, aunt.” She said, “Thank you. How are you? Are you well?” I said, “I’m fine. How are you?” She said, “I’m fine.” Then I went outside, went down toward the fountain. There’s a tree next to the grocery shop. I sat there. Then Tahir Kaya came over. We chatted a bit.
Presiding Judge : While leaving the house at that time, did you have your phone with you?
Enes Güran : Yes, my phone was with me.
Presiding Judge : Around 16:00, approximately—exact timing isn’t very important. When you went out at 16:00, your phone was with you.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Presiding Judge : All right.
Enes Güran : I was sitting by that tree next to the grocery. Tahir Kaya came to me, we talked. Since it was hot, I wanted to buy an energy drink. I went into the grocery, bought one. I noticed Süleyman Kaya coming in after me. He is mentally disabled; I felt pity and said, “What do you want? Let me get you one too.” He said okay, “Get an energy drink.” I bought one for him as well. I had 200 lira—my father had given it to me that morning before going to Batman. I gave it to the shopkeeper; he gave me the change. When I left the store, I noticed Muhammed Yağmur. I went to him, we talked. Then Kerem Güran and Muhammed Güran (my brother) came. Kerem said, “Welcome, uncle.” While Muhammed and I were talking, Süleyha Güran came. She told Kerem Güran to help carry her hay. Kerem said, “Our backs hurt, we can’t.” Then Süleyha noticed Tahir and walked toward him. Meanwhile, Muhammed Güran and Kerem Güran went down to the lower part of the village, while Muhammed Yağmur and I continued talking. Then I saw Şevket Susam coming out to his doorway. We chatted a bit. Later I saw Muhammed Kaya in front of Azize Kaya’s house near the grocery. I went over, Şevket and Muhammed followed me. The four of us sat and talked. Then Muhammed Yağmur and Şevket said they would go home. Muhammed Kaya and I went to the fountain side, and Süleyman Kaya, the mentally disabled one, came with us. Muhammed Kaya and I were chatting while Süleyman listened. I saw Muhammed Yağmur come out of his house, getting into a car. I said, “Where are you going?” He said he was going to wash the car. I asked, “Can you drop me home?” He said no. I said, “Then drop me by the school, I’ll walk up the hill.” When I reached the school area, I saw kids carrying hay. My step-grandmother Süveyla Güran asked me to help carry her hay; I couldn’t say no, so I told Muhammed to drop me near the mosque, and then I went straight up the hill home. I sat in the same room, on the same couch.
Presiding Judge : Around what time did you return home?
Enes Güran : Around 17:30.
Presiding Judge : All right.
Enes Güran : Then I started using my phone again—social media, YouTube. Since I had come from working away and my slippers and shoes were torn, and I knew my brother Osman was working at Ongözlü and would come early, I called him. I said, “Bring me a pair of slippers.” He said, “Okay, brother.” Then while I was on my phone, my mother came and said, “Call your father and brother; will they make it for dinner or not?” I looked at my phone and saw it was off. Yüksel Güran is my mother. I said, “Mom, bring your phone, I’ll call them from yours.” Since my mother cannot read or write, I dialed myself and handed her the phone. Both of them said they would be late for dinner. Then, Your Honor, my mother said, “The barn window is open; the turkeys are getting out and the dog eats them.” I said, “Okay, mom.” I went up toward the barn, told her she could come with me. When I went there, I noticed Ferhat Kaya, Ufuk Kaya and Furkan Kaya on the hillside. Ferhat Kaya kept calling me insistently, “Come, come.” When I went toward them, they had a red dog. It came to me. Ferhat came near me and said, “Come on, I came to you, if you don’t come now…” I said, “I’m not coming, really; my mother will call me anyway.” He said okay. “We have guests,” I said, “Then I’ll go home.” He said okay. Ufuk Kaya came with me. Furkan Kaya didn’t. Ufuk and I went to the small hill right next to the barn and sat there. While Ufuk and I were chatting, Ufuk saw Yusuf Kaya coming from the mosque side. Ufuk stood up, waved, and called Yusuf Kaya over. Yusuf came, Your Honor, and we all sat and talked. Then I noticed my mother coming. She came and said, “Son, close the window, we’ll put the turkeys inside.” I said okay, mom. I went with her. The window was hard to close, so I picked up a stone and a bottle to push it shut. After closing it, we put the turkeys inside. And then again…
Presiding Judge : In the meantime, were you smoking with your friends?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Presiding Judge : Cigarettes, the regular ones we all know, right?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Presiding Judge : In Diyarbakır they sometimes call marijuana “cigarette.” We mean ordinary cigarettes, not marijuana, correct?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Presiding Judge : All right.
Enes Güran : After we put the turkeys inside, I went back to my friends. My mother came near us and saw cigarettes in their hands. She said, “It’s a sin, don’t smoke, it harms you,” and left. We kept sitting and chatting. Then Furkan Kaya came to me. I said, “Why didn’t you come and greet me earlier?” He said, “I had just come from work, my clothes were dirty, I smelled bad, I didn’t want to bother anyone.” I said, “No problem.” While sitting with Furkan Kaya, we were with Yusuf and Ufuk Kaya too. It was getting dark. I noticed my brother Muhammed coming home from behind the mosque. Ufuk said it was getting dark, “Let’s go home, we’ll go out again later.” I said, “Okay, uncle.” Then, Your Honor, as we were heading home, Muhammed Kaya — sorry, Güran, Your Honor, the surnames…
Presiding Judge : That’s all right.
Enes Güran : My brother Muhammed Güran caught up with me, and we went home together. I went inside again, sat in the same room, on the couch, took my mother’s phone since mine was off and charging. I saw that my brother Osman had sent photos to her phone. I called Osman and said, “Bring me the first pair of slippers you mentioned,” then hung up. He said okay, brother. Then while playing with Eren, I noticed my mother laying the table and the call to prayer being recited.
Presiding Judge : In the meantime, didn’t Narin cross your mind?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, when she said at 1 o’clock that she would go to the mosque with Hatice and Fatma, since she often played with them and sometimes stayed at their house…
Presiding Judge : So you didn’t suspect anything unusual.
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : All right.
Enes Güran : Then, Your Honor, my mother laid the table, the call to prayer ended, she was about to go to the kitchen when she turned and asked, “Where is Narin?” I said, “I don’t know. The last I heard was that she was going to the mosque at 1 o’clock.” Then, Your Honor, my mother took her phone and started calling Hediye Güran. Hediye said Narin wasn’t with them. We went up the hill—the one from where we can see Maşallah Güran’s house. We called out, “Is Narin there with you?” They said no. I took my brother Muhammed and went down toward the mosque. I sent Muhammed to Azize Kaya’s house. I called out softly, “Narin, Narin,” thinking maybe she was playing somewhere or distracted. When Muhammed came back and said, “Brother, she’s not there either,” I raised my voice, calling “Narin, Narin” louder. I went toward the fountain, the mosque, the school, but I couldn’t find her. When I came back toward the mosque again, I noticed my father Arif Güran had arrived, and by then the villagers were all up searching. We all started looking for Narin Güran together.
Presiding Judge : Well, during the period you described, did you ever see Salim Güran?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor. I did not see him at all.
Presiding Judge : You also said that while you were sleeping at home, you did not hear any sounds of anyone entering or leaving. Only a friend called you. Do you remember whether you spoke with him?
Enes Güran : I answered the phone. He said, “You went to Diyarbakır, you forgot us,” and so on. I said, “I’m sleeping; call later.”
Presiding Judge : He hung up.
Enes Güran : He said okay and hung up.
Presiding Judge : Now, Enes, this is your most recent account. Like Nevzat, you also have statements at different stages that contradict each other.
Enes Güran : Yes, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Why are you making these contradictory statements?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, not because of contradiction. There were things I did not remember at the time. For example, there were things I could not say in my statement; there were things I did not remember.
Presiding Judge : So this contradiction is not because you planned something and hid or concealed it, but because you could not recall due to the shock of the incident.
Enes Güran : Exactly, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : I understand. Now, regarding the grocery: the grocer said the shop was not open. Our attorneys suggested he might have said that to avoid being a witness, or that he might have been at home. There is a contradiction here as well, yet you say you went to the grocery.
Enes Güran : Even the grocer’s son, Şevket, knew the grocery was open.
Presiding Judge : Yes.
Enes Güran : I also have witnesses. Muhammed Yağmur and Muhammed Kaya know it too.
Presiding Judge : Now, according to the HTS base station data—let me read your HTS base station records.
Enes Güran : Yes, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : At 14:30 you are at home. Until 15:51 you clearly ping at home—so until 16:00. At 15:57 you go to Salim’s house. Why?
Enes Güran : I definitely did not go to Salim’s house, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : You did not. Then at 16:04—let me put it this way—at 15:57, when you go to Salim’s house, Salim comes right after you.
Enes Güran : I definitely did not go to Salim Güran’s house that day.
Presiding Judge : Then at 16:04 you are at an unknown location; at 16:11 you are at your own house. And around 18:13 you are near the school, and your phone is off.
Enes Güran : Since I was around the school—when I was around the school—it was already about 17:30, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : 18:13.
Enes Güran : All right, so 18:13 is around 5 o’clock, isn’t it, Your Honor?
Presiding Judge : 6. Eighteen is 6—ten past 6.
Enes Güran : Around 17:30 I was already by the fountain—sorry, by the school. From there, with Muhammed Yağmur, we turned toward the mosque and went up the hill.
Presiding Judge : So you never went to Salim’s house.
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Now another allegation. In the indictment it is stated that you committed the killing collectively, but there is no allegation as to why. So there are various claims. The first is Nevzat’s claim of a relationship between Salim and your mother. Another allegation is that you were in an improper situation and, because Narin saw this, you killed Narin.
Enes Güran : Absolutely not, Your Honor; nothing of the sort.
Presiding Judge : So nothing of the sort.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Presiding Judge : Do you have any romantic attachment with Salim’s daughters?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Did you see Salim’s daughters on the day of the incident?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Did you have any sexual relations with them?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : You did not. Now, could it be like this? I am only speaking of possibilities. Narin came home and said, “Where is my brother Enes? Where is my brother Enes?” At that moment you were in an improper state in the barn. She came to the barn. After she saw you there, could you have taken any action against her?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor. I never even went to the barn.
Presiding Judge : You never went to the barn. You only slept.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Presiding Judge : Now, the witnesses—Furkan and Ufuk—say they were together at the time of the incident… Let me clarify this again, Enes. In your first statement you say, “I went out to search around 16:30,” whereas in a later statement and in your statement here in court you say, “I started searching for Narin after it got dark, at 18:30 or even 19:00.” But in your first statement you say, “I started searching for Narin from 04:30.”
Enes Güran : Your Honor, in the first days—the second and third days too—people in the village were saying, “I saw Narin here at this hour. I saw her around 4 o’clock, I saw her at 6, I saw her at 3.” And when we went to the gendarmerie on the fourth day, I did not clearly remember the times.
Presiding Judge : I understand. So this is the reason for your confusion.
Enes Güran : Yes, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : In your conversation with your father, you talked about dinner, correct? For a short time. A very short one—you have a 16-second call.
Enes Güran : Yes, Your Honor. My mother spoke with him.
Presiding Judge : You dialed your father from your mother’s phone, and your mother spoke on her phone.
Enes Güran : Yes, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Then why did you not inform your father later? Your father learned from a third person that Narin had been abducted. Not abducted—pardon me—had gone missing.
Enes Güran : Yes, Your Honor. Your Honor, since my own phone was at home charging, and I had nothing on me, when I was searching for my sister Narin in the lower part of the village, I did not have any family member in mind. Only, “Where is Narin?”
Presiding Judge : Now, Enes, think about this apart from everything. There was a very serious search for about 10 to 15 days, correct? Drones, cameras, thousands of teams, constant contact with you. However, the gendarmerie has a report like this: while we were constantly searching, starting with Salim Güran, family members continually gave us misleading suggestions, and because of them we repeatedly searched in different places and along different lines. Did you witness anything like this?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : In other words, were you involved in directing the gendarmerie or the law enforcement there into other areas, into misguided searches?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, only on the night of the second day—the military team was on the school side. I went to them and said, “I am not at ease. Perhaps the villagers have not checked at all. There are places I want to be checked.” They said okay, “We will look wherever you want.” Afterwards, together with them, we also looked at places that had not been searched. In fact, at the small window that Nevzat Bahtiyar mentioned, I myself entered there together with the military. When I checked, I did not see anything. But before I went in, I noticed Nevzat Bahtiyar on the roof. When I came out, Nevzat Bahtiyar was not there.
Presiding Judge : What time period are you talking about?
Enes Güran : The second day.
Presiding Judge : You are talking about the second day. So, was Nevzat Bahtiyar following you then? Is that what you mean?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, I do not know. No, that is not what I am saying. When I went searching with our military team and the gendarmerie, I told them I was not at ease and wanted to search again. They said, “All right, Enes.” Then, when I went to Nevzat Bahtiyar’s barn—the small window he mentioned, the one facing the back, toward the hay—I went in there. Our military team did not go in. But before I went in, I saw Nevzat Bahtiyar on the roof. When I came out, I certainly did not see him there.
Presiding Judge : All right, so is there a suspicious movement here?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, on the day of the incident, nothing about Nevzat Bahtiyar crossed our minds. Nevzat Bahtiyar certainly did not occur to us.
Presiding Judge : Yes, that is what I am going to ask. Now, while you were saying that Salim—even his stepmother—had abducted your daughter, that Narin might have been abducted, and while your father insisted that his step-siblings were alcoholics, that he did not like them, that they did it, not a single person suspected Nevzat.
Enes Güran : That is correct.
Presiding Judge : Is that correct?
Enes Güran : That is correct.
Presiding Judge : Is that correct?
Enes Güran : That is correct.
Presiding Judge : Then why did Nevzat kill her? In your later statements, you claim Nevzat did it.
Enes Güran : That is correct.
Presiding Judge : So, considering that you had no suspicion of him and claimed there was no hostility between you, what about the later hostilities—the car dispute, the incident about bringing a girl to the house, the alleged abduction, or the military girl issue? I’m not referring to those.
Enes Güran : Yes, Your Honor. Your Honor, those car issues were about some transactions.
Presiding Judge : I’m not referring to those, but they came up later. I mean, right after the incident, that car issue was not a serious matter for you. You did not suspect Nevzat. You’re saying now that Nevzat’s brother Askeri brought a girl home, you intervened, then there was talk of abduction—these are allegations made by the prosecution. So none of this crossed your mind, and you did not suspect Nevzat at all, correct?
Enes Güran : That is correct, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : So, if you never suspected him, why would a man kill your sister?
Enes Güran : I don’t know.
Presiding Judge : Could Nevzat’s allegation be true—that he had a relationship with your mother?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, such a question should not even be asked to me. She is my mother, after all.
Presiding Judge : You’re right, I respect that, and I apologize for asking. But I am trying to uncover the truth. You are being tried for intentional homicide. I’m here to find who is innocent and who is guilty. As a court, we seek to distinguish right from wrong, the innocent from the guilty. That’s why I ask—please don’t take offense. You never went to Salim’s house, correct?
Enes Güran : Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Then why do the base station records show this?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, as I said, during sleep the phone might still ping a tower—if the internet is on, or if someone calls.
Presiding Judge : But that’s not the case here. Look, you say you were sleeping at home. The data confirms that—you were stationary at home. But what did I tell you? At 15:57 it says you went to Salim’s house.
Enes Güran : Your Honor, I definitely did not go to Salim Güran’s house that day.
Presiding Judge : You did not. I’ll ask again—you didn’t go, yes—but I must ask again, since everyone will likely ask the same question: Did you go to Salim’s house that day to take a bath and remove bite marks on your arm?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : You say you didn’t go, but I’m asking plainly.
Enes Güran : Your Honor, I bit my arm on the third day.
Presiding Judge : All right. A petition came from prison. Our lawyers have probably seen it—a citizen claimed to have solved the case. He wrote an interesting petition. He said: “If Enes was bitten on the arm at the time of the incident, why didn’t he bite his arm when he was taken into custody?” A regular citizen said this. Then, three days later, you bit your arm, and later, an inmate sent another petition saying: “If Enes keeps biting his arm and hurting himself, why didn’t he do that in prison?”
Enes Güran : Because my father was worried about me, and I called him every day through video chat. I didn’t want him to see anything on my face. I didn’t go to prison as a criminal; I went there for my sister, for Narin—for justice.
Presiding Judge : But in prison, you often made suggestive remarks, Enes. You told Eren, “Abican,” you mentioned a toothbrush—as if warning him: “Be careful, don’t talk too much.” What was the reason for that?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, I didn’t talk to Eren like that. I just didn’t want Eren to know I was in prison. I would tell him, “Abican, you come every week, I give you chocolate.” So that he wouldn’t realize I was in prison, I told him not to talk to anyone and to be careful.
Presiding Judge : So that’s what you meant. All right. Then about the toothbrush—you said, “I kissed Narin; maybe DNA could come out, brother.” What did you mean by that?
Enes Güran : I don’t even know what DNA or anything like that is.
Presiding Judge : You learned about it through this case?
Enes Güran : Yes. I just didn’t want to keep it inside. I wanted my family to know. I wanted my father and my brother to know.
Presiding Judge : As I said, in your August 29 statement, like the one you gave here, you said you met Tahir, went to the grocery, and so on. But in a later statement, you didn’t mention those; instead, you said you sat with Ufuk, Furkan, and Yusuf, and later your mother came. Two witnesses said your mother came, one didn’t mention her at all.
Enes Güran : It was Furkan Kaya who didn’t, Your Honor. I remembered later, while in prison—when my mother called me over, Ufuk Kaya and Yusuf Kaya were with me, but Furkan Kaya was not.
Presiding Judge : He wasn’t with you.
Enes Güran : Yes, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : So, I’m asking these again because your first statement lacked details due to shock. I won’t repeat them further. Because between your August 25 and August 29 statements, there are serious contradictions. The reason is that, in the heat of the event, you couldn’t recall everything and gave an incomplete account. Correct? You also mentioned the slipper matter.
Enes Güran : Yes, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Yes, Madam Judge said something interesting. When you told Osman, he said they told him Narin was missing, so he went to Çarıklı. But you say you learned Narin was missing around 8 p.m. Did you tell Osman that Narin was missing?
Enes Güran : Yes, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Then why did Osman testify otherwise?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, when Akın joined me during the search—while I was calling for Narin—Akın Kaya was with me, and my brother Osman called Akın. Osman said, “It’s me, Osman, Osman is calling.” I took the phone from him and said, “Narin is missing; where are you? Come quickly.”
Presiding Judge : So, in the village, there was a fight among women. You witnessed it. Can you tell us how that happened?
Enes Güran : Of course, Your Honor. Your Honor, after we were told by the military and gendarmerie that we had lost Narin, there were Melike Güran and Yasemin Güran—Yasemin is my aunt. They came all the way from Bismil. Then Melike Güran said, “I knew this would happen.” And Yasemin Güran said to her, “If you knew, why didn’t you speak up, why didn’t you tell the truth?” Then, Your Honor, Yasemin Gül—pardon, Your Honor, Yasemin Gül—
Presiding Judge : Yaser Gül, Yasemin Gül, all right.
Enes Güran : I pushed her toward my house, saying, “What are you doing? Is this the time to fight?” I pushed her toward my house.
Presiding Judge : So what did those women mean when they said, “We knew this would happen”? Did you ask?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Why not?
Enes Güran : Because the fight got worse, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Even so—you could have pulled one aside and asked, “What do you mean, you knew? My sister is missing; who killed her that you’re fighting over it?” Didn’t that cross your mind?
Enes Güran : Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : You’re a grown man, a smart man. Our attorneys insist that you’re clever enough to be an excavator operator at a young age. You graduated from a science high school, correct? You’re a thoughtful person. Our attorneys and all the directors mention your intelligence to us. Isn’t it suspicious that such a smart person didn’t ask questions but instead acted as if silencing someone?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, when Melike Güran said that, it was Yasemin Gül who spoke to me. I didn’t hear what Melike said. Yasemin Gül said to me, “They are saying this, they are saying that. If they knew, they should have told the truth.” Then, Your Honor, when I pushed Yasemin Gül, the older women—Salihe Kaya, those from the upper side, the lower side, my aunt Gül—they all started fighting each other.
Presiding Judge : All right. For example, who is Maşallah Güran to you?
Enes Güran : My sister-in-law.
Presiding Judge : Your sister-in-law said, “Everyone knows everything; don’t make me talk,” and then two people forcibly covered her mouth.
Enes Güran : I didn’t hear that, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Who is Birsen Güran to you?
Enes Güran : My cousin.
Presiding Judge : Maşallah’s daughter.
Presiding Judge : She said, “It’s not like we did it, yet you’re blaming us,” and then they covered her mouth too. So it’s like a group of men were trying to silence a group of women—you, Fuat, Erhan, correct?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor. When the women were fighting, one woman shouted, “Because of you men, we’re fighting each other.” When I ran over, a soldier came and held me tightly. My father took me from his hands, made me sit somewhere, and later they took me to the gendarmerie.
Presiding Judge : Now, Enes, you deny everything. You say you had no relations with anyone. You say you weren’t in the barn, you were home. And you say you didn’t kill your sister. Then why are you a defendant here?
Enes Güran : I don’t know, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Why do you think, among all these people—why not Muhammed Kaya, why not Birsen, why not someone else—but you, the one in the house, are the one accused by the prosecution?
Enes Güran : I don’t know.
Presiding Judge : You never thought about it. Did you call Ufuk, Furkan, or the others to meet that day?
Enes Güran : To meet?
Presiding Judge : Yes.
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Because they said you called them, said you’d take a bath, and so on.
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : You didn’t talk on the phone? So when you went out, were they already outside?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, when I went out, to the hill beside the barn, I saw Ferhat Kaya, Ufuk Kaya, and Yusuf Kaya there.
Presiding Judge : So you didn’t plan to meet them beforehand?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Am I remembering wrong?
Defense Attorneys : Your Honor, he’s right, but there was someone who said, “I called but couldn’t reach him.”
Enes Güran : I even said to him, “Call me then—let’s see where my phone is,” and that’s how it happened there.
Presiding Judge : So I remember correctly, not wrong. All right. You also reject the HTS and base data. After this incident, you began the search operations. Then unfortunately, Narin’s body was found. Our lawyer made a correction on this, but legally we still refer to it as “the body”—please don’t misunderstand; we mean Narin’s lifeless body. That’s just legal terminology. So, after that, whom did you suspect?
Enes Güran : After that, Your Honor?
Presiding Judge : Yes. You’re a rational young man; I say this again. I can clearly see this from your video statements, from your communication with your family, from your behavior here in court. I think a smart person like you would have suspected someone or pursued some lead. But I see none of that. On the contrary, in the file I see an Enes who intervened in the women’s fight, as if trying to conceal evidence.
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Why didn’t you ever feel suspicious of anyone?
Enes Güran : At first, when Salim Güran was detained, they said blood was found in his car, that it was Narin’s blood. To tell the truth, I suspected him—even though he’s my uncle—because my sister was missing. But later they said it was just hair.
Presiding Judge : Did you ask Salim about this?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor. I was detained on the fourth day and released on the ninth. I never even saw Salim Güran.
Presiding Judge : So he was in prison.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Presiding Judge : And you never spoke with Nevzat either.
Enes Güran : With Nevzat—on the fifteenth day, he came to the mosque.
Presiding Judge : Did you ever talk about this matter with your mother?
Enes Güran : How, Your Honor?
Presiding Judge : When these allegations arose, when you were detained, weren’t you and your mother detained together?
Enes Güran : We were detained together.
Presiding Judge : During that time, did you have a chance to ask her?
Enes Güran : No, there wasn’t an opportunity, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : So you never asked, “Mother, did you have a relationship with someone? Did you kill my sister?”
Enes Güran : I did not.
Presiding Judge : All right. Is Salim Güran the head of this household?
Enes Güran : No.
Presiding Judge : Other than being the village headman, does Salim Güran have any title in your household?
Enes Güran : No. No.
Presiding Judge : Is it possible that Salim Güran committed the killing?
Enes Güran : I don’t know, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : You don’t know. Do you have any opinion as to whether Nevzat might have committed the killing?
Enes Güran : Only about the car sale—that’s what stuck in my mind.
Presiding Judge : So would he be so vicious as to kill your sister over a car sale?
Enes Güran : In that gathering of elders—my father Arif Güran said to Nevzat Bahtiyar, because he stutters—“Don’t stutter, son.” Pardon me, Mr. Prosecutor.
Presiding Judge : Go on, go on—you can even curse openly.
Enes Güran : “Don’t talk back, son; wherever you get that money, you will bring it. It is a right. A case has been filed; he must pay the money.” And then, Your Honor, as for Nevzat Bahtiyar saying, “I went up the hill; I gave the money there to Yüksel Güran and Arif Güran”—I was there too, Your Honor. Nevzat Bahtiyar came and handed the money to my father. My father handed it to my mother. And Nevzat Bahtiyar sat among us and said, “There’s no problem. If you like, you never have to come at all.”
Presiding Judge : All right. There’s also this, Enes. In your father’s press statement and in your brother’s statements, you start by saying what you just said: “Who is Nevzat?” You say, “Who is Nevzat to come to our house?” Your brother even had a grave remark: “Who is Nevzat to even look at our chicken?” So, after you received the money from the man you call “Who is Nevzat,” you still say “Who is Nevzat.” This man is timid and meek; we have all concluded he is a stutterer. Do you really believe that such a person would be capable of killing your sister—according to the opposing side’s claim, that he would announce that everyone had left the village, pay the girl money, lure her over, and execute such a plan?
Enes Güran : I do, Your Honor. He had already paid her before.
Presiding Judge : What’s wrong with giving money?
Enes Güran : I mean, by giving money he got her accustomed to him.
Presiding Judge : So you’re saying he had been planning this for a week or two.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Presiding Judge : How much money are we talking about? Fifty thousand lira? Would Nevzat really lose his mind over a car matter to the point of killing someone?
Enes Güran : In fact, because my father used that phrase to him, from there—
Presiding Judge : When did this happen?
Enes Güran : Before I went to Malatya, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Approximately?
Enes Güran : Approximately four months ago.
Presiding Judge : Four months. So you think he bore a grudge from that incident and made a plan. All right. But you still have no definite opinion on whether Nevzat actually did the killing.
Enes Güran : Exactly.
Presiding Judge : Narin’s friends, in statements taken with a child psychologist present, said that—as her name suggests—she was delicate, and that she would not get into strangers’ cars or meet with strangers. Would Narin consider Nevzat a stranger or not?
Enes Güran : If he had given her money, she wouldn’t see him as a stranger, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : If he had given her money, she wouldn’t. Before these events came to light, did you ever see Nevzat giving Narin money, were you present, or did Narin tell you anything like that?
Enes Güran : My mother told me. She said Nevzat was giving her money.
Presiding Judge : And did you not demand an explanation—“Who is Nevzat to give Narin money?”
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor. My mother told me this before the court proceedings.
Presiding Judge : Before the court matter—before Narin went missing—did you ever see or hear that Nevzat was giving her money?
Enes Güran : Your Honor, I was in Arguvan, Malatya at that time.
Presiding Judge : Did Narin not tell you?
Enes Güran : No.
Presiding Judge : “Brother, Nevzat is giving me money?”
Enes Güran : I arrived on the 20th anyway.
Presiding Judge : Even if not you, she would tell Muhammed, Eren, Osman, Yüksel, Arif. I don’t mean you personally—you were out of town. Did none of them hear anything?
Enes Güran : No, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Because here’s the thing: if Nevzat were giving money, and given your family structure, if you heard about that money, with your “Who is Nevzat?” attitude you would easily confront him—“What’s this about, brother, why are you giving her money?” Even Eren, as I understand it, could ask this.
Enes Güran : Your Honor, it was never told to me.
Presiding Judge : It was never told.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Presiding Judge : Do any of our judges have questions? No. Mr. Prosecutor, do you have any questions? Please, speak close to the microphone, Mr. Prosecutor.
Trial Prosecutor
Trial Prosecutor : Enes Güran. Are you a graduate of the Science and Technology High School?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : As the Presiding Judge emphasized, when you said around 18 you thought it meant 5—what did you mean? Around 18 is 6, right?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : Now, in the gendarmerie interview record of August 23, the information-taking record of August 24, and again on August 25—three records in a row—you say you started searching for Narin around 16:30, correct? I’m asking because we see you as a sensible young man.
Enes Güran : Yes, exactly.
Trial Prosecutor : These are the points we find odd. You say you started searching at 16:30, outside?
Enes Güran : Yes, exactly.
Trial Prosecutor : Yet you do not accept this now, correct?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : You don’t accept it. Why did you give a false statement? You say your mind was confused, is that it?
Enes Güran : My sister was missing and still not found, and people in the neighborhood mostly kept saying times: “I saw her here at this time; I saw her at that time.”
Trial Prosecutor : So that’s why you gave the same statement for the first three days.
Enes Güran : Yes, exactly.
Trial Prosecutor : Not one day, not two—three days you said, “I was searching for my sister at 16:30,” purely due to confusion?
Enes Güran : Yes, exactly.
Trial Prosecutor : All right. How many times did you leave the house?
Enes Güran : Twice, Your Honor. Twice.
Trial Prosecutor : The first time? At 4 o’clock. You went out at 16:00—around 15:57. Then the base data matches, right?
Enes Güran : Base data?
Trial Prosecutor : Yes.
Enes Güran : What do you mean?
Trial Prosecutor : The base station data we alleged—at 15:57 you went to Salim’s house.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : So that matches. No? You say you went out at 16:00.
Enes Güran : I didn’t go to his house.
Trial Prosecutor : That matches—I’m talking about leaving the house. You went out once?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : What did you do that first time?
Enes Güran : I went down toward the fountain, to Tahir Kaya; I went to the grocery and asked for an energy drink.
Trial Prosecutor : What time did you get back?
Enes Güran : At 05:30.
Trial Prosecutor : You returned at 05:30. When did you go out again?
Enes Güran : Around 6.
Trial Prosecutor : You went out at 05:30. What time did you say you called Osman?
Enes Güran : I don’t remember calling Osman.
Trial Prosecutor : Could it have been between 05:30 and 06:00?
Enes Güran : When I got home, I noticed my phone was off and my slippers and shoes were torn. That’s when I called my brother Osman.
Trial Prosecutor : X-XXX-XXX-26-21—that’s Osman’s number, isn’t it?
Enes Güran : I don’t know.
Trial Prosecutor : Osman uses that number. Yes—the one ending in 26-21.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : You have a call at 17:49—10 seconds. Another at 17:50—four minutes, 220 seconds. Correct?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : There was talk about slippers, right?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : You told him to get size 42 slippers from Çarıklı. You couldn’t have talked about slippers for four minutes. What did you talk about for four minutes?
Enes Güran : Well, since my brother Osman was in Ongözlü, and I have friends in Ongözlü, I also talked with my friends.
Trial Prosecutor : Your brother was working as a waiter in Ongözlü?
Enes Güran : Correct.
Trial Prosecutor : At that time. What did you do? I don’t quite understand—what did you talk about for four minutes?
Enes Güran : Since my friends also work at that café, I asked him to hand the phone to them—so that no one would bother or talk to my brother Osman.
Trial Prosecutor : You brought this up at a time when your battery was low. Your battery was low, right? That’s what you say.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : What did you talk about with your father at 17:43 for 24 seconds?
Enes Güran : I don’t remember, Your Honor.
Trial Prosecutor : Just three to five minutes before the slipper call.
Enes Güran : I don’t remember, Your Honor.
Trial Prosecutor : What time did your battery die then?
Enes Güran : Around six o’clock, Your Honor.
Trial Prosecutor : Around six. According to the base data, it’s said your phone turned off at 18:13. That matches exactly, doesn’t it?
Enes Güran : If you look at it according to that, Mr. Prosecutor.
Trial Prosecutor : I’m not asking about the base data. It says here your phone turned off at 18:13.
Enes Güran : Yes, Your Honor.
Trial Prosecutor : Does that match?
Enes Güran : It doesn’t exactly.
Trial Prosecutor : What time did it turn off? You said around six.
Enes Güran : Yes, that’s correct.
Trial Prosecutor : Then when your phone turned off, you just said your mother asked you to call your father to see if he was coming for dinner.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : And you said you couldn’t call because the phone died, right? Then you spoke from your mother’s phone, correct?
Enes Güran : Yes, my mother spoke with him.
Trial Prosecutor : Your mother spoke.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : But your last call was a four-minute one with Osman.
Enes Güran : I didn’t call my father from my own phone anyway.
Trial Prosecutor : You did call your father—at 17:43.
Enes Güran : I didn’t call my father to say something like “Will you be late for dinner” or anything like that.
Trial Prosecutor : You don’t remember what you talked about with your father during that minute.
Enes Güran : And, Your Honor, Mr. Prosecutor, my mother came to me and said, “Son, call your father and brother to see if they’ll make it for dinner.” So I checked my phone and realized it was off. Then I told my mother to bring her phone so we could call from it. Since my mother can’t read or write, I dialed and handed her the phone. She spoke with him.
Trial Prosecutor : All right, your phone turned off around six, at 18:13. What were you doing then?
Enes Güran : I put my phone on charge.
Trial Prosecutor : You were home.
Enes Güran : Yes, I was home.
Trial Prosecutor : Why didn’t you plug it in earlier?
Enes Güran : I did plug it in.
Trial Prosecutor : What time did you turn it back on?
Enes Güran : When we realized that Narin was missing.
Trial Prosecutor : You didn’t turn your phone on until 19:11—about an hour. The phone was on charge for an hour, according to your statements. Around 19:11 is when you noticed Narin was missing—around dinner, correct? That’s what the base data indicates. Your mother brought her phone to you, and you started calling people with it, right? You said, “My mother asked us to call some people since she can’t read or write,” didn’t you?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : You said that. Then why didn’t you turn on your own phone to help contact people yourself?
Enes Güran : It didn’t occur to me.
Trial Prosecutor : Why was your mother the only one calling people? Why didn’t you call your father to let him know at that time?
Enes Güran : It didn’t occur to me; I didn’t even realize the seriousness of the situation yet.
Trial Prosecutor : Your sister was missing. Your phone was charged and plugged in, but you went out without taking it, is that right?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Trial Prosecutor : You went out to search for your sister without taking or turning on your phone.
Defense Attorneys : Your Honor, I apologize. There will be a misunderstanding here. At that time, there was no confirmed report of a disappearance. But Enes has this desire to answer every question, to satisfy everyone. It might turn into one of those public misinterpretations again.
Trial Prosecutor : I didn’t understand what you meant by “misinterpretation.”
Defense Attorney Mahir Akbilek : Your Honor, as my colleague mentioned, I forgot to point out that regarding these questions—excuse me—we intentionally didn’t refer to Article 206/2a. We discussed it among ourselves. For example, the basis of what’s being defended here—the concept and its legal nature are uncertain, and it’s unclear who prepared these documents. Did we all agree beforehand to treat this document as material evidence, as a conclusive basis, before using it as the backbone for questioning?
Trial Prosecutor : First of all, Your Honor, HTS and base data are separate things. My questions to Enes concern HTS only. The BTK responses show a 17:43 call. Do you acknowledge that?
Defense Attorney Mahir Akbilek : I’m very serious—believe me, when it’s our turn to speak according to proper CMK procedure, you’ll see that the document you think is reliable evidence is, in fact, incredibly misleading—you won’t believe it.
Trial Prosecutor : But, Counselor, my question logically follows. I’m referring to HTS data, not base data—HTS.
Presiding Judge : Since I read your written defense thoroughly, I know your position regarding those base records—no, no, let me finish. When I asked Nevzat a question earlier, I made a reference—to you, correct? You said you did not accept the base data. So why did you find it inappropriate when I used that same base record, which is also in the indictment as evidence, to question with?
Defense Attorney Mahir Akbilek : Not at all, Your Honor, it’s a misunderstanding.
Presiding Judge : I see. All right, no problem. That’s why I made that reference…
In this part of our recording, simultaneous conversation among the defense attorneys, complainant’s counsel, and the court panel caused overlapping audio, and approximately two minutes of the recording could not be transcribed.
Defense Attorney Mahir Akbilek : We all know there’s a background here, and the mistakes from that past are before us. Each of us—lawyers, all jurists, and the public—we all share this…
Presiding Judge : All right, let’s get to the conclusion. Proceed with the defense.
Defense Attorney Mahir Akbilek : Your Honor, at least in these direct questions drawn from the limited data set, the defendant should be given time to think. At least five or ten seconds to breathe before answering. Just because he’s a science high school graduate, does that make him Einstein?
Presiding Judge : I only wish you had shown the same sensitivity when questioning Nevzat Bahtiyar—instead of firing off questions one after another. If you had waited for him to breathe, I’d be more convinced of your sincerity. But I’m not.
Trial Prosecutor : In your four-minute call with Osman, you said you also talked with your friends. You explained that’s why it took that long. Since you have that level of detail, I naturally feel entitled to ask what you discussed with your father at 17:43, based on the HTS record. The court accepted the indictment’s base data, so asking HTS-related questions is entirely legitimate.
Presiding Judge : Please, go ahead, Mr. Prosecutor.
Trial Prosecutor : Why did you ask for slippers?
Enes Güran : Because my shoes were torn, Your Honor. I had come from Arguvan, Malatya.
Trial Prosecutor : That’s all?
Enes Güran : Yes. Because I came from out of town.
Trial Prosecutor : Did he bring the slippers?
Enes Güran : He did. But I didn’t wear them.
Trial Prosecutor : You didn’t wear them. All right. No further questions, Your Honor. Thank you.
Presiding Judge : We’ll begin with questions from the Diyarbakır Bar Association. As the court, we do not take sides with any of the defendants. The way I treated Nevzat is the same way I treated Enes. If anyone has a different impression, please say so. If anyone says, “Your Honor, we got such an impression,” I’ll leave my robe right here. I’m being very clear—I would leave my robe and withdraw from this case. I will show the same approach to Yüksel and to Salim. On Monday, I have another trial; I’ll act exactly the same there. I don’t look at any case based on who the defendant is. For me, this case has no special distinction from any other. If I ever made such a distinction, I would quit this profession—very clearly. If anyone here, including lawyers from the Diyarbakır Bar Association, can say the Presiding Judge shows a different level of attention in this case compared to others, I’ll step down immediately. Can anyone say that? Let someone from the Diyarbakır Bar say it. I’m saying this openly and clearly. I’ll even adjourn this hearing today if needed and withdraw from it. I show the same diligence in every case. Let me clarify that—to clear any doubts. I say the same thing to the press: for us, this case is just one of hundreds of cases we handle. It only receives more attention because it’s more significant in your eyes, and we respond with proportional care. We’ll continue on Monday as well. Monday we have a murder case with detained defendants; we’ll show the same diligence there. I show equal respect to every defendant. I’ve shown the same respect to drug dealers, to those accused of killing children, and to those accused of killing their spouses. Therefore, regarding our court’s stance—I’m explaining, not defending—I won’t engage with these allegations. Let there be no such doubt in anyone’s mind. The same respect I show you, I showed Nevzat. He’s not my father’s son, and neither are you. I’m seeing you for the first time. I’ll show the same respect to Ms. Yüksel and to Mr. Salim. I’m not even from Diyarbakır; I may be transferred this year or next. If anyone has any gossip or doubts about bias, please state it openly, so everyone knows the court stands above suspicion. Let me make that very clear. Mr. Nahit knows this, and so do you. I’ve been transparent from the beginning. Every time you spoke, I said “amenna” and acted accordingly. I’m saying all this because of the impression I’ve received.
Diyarbakır Bar Association
Law. Aydın Özdemir
Law. Aydın Özdemir : Enes, you said that around 17:30 on the day of the incident, you returned home. When you came back, was there anyone in the house?
Enes Güran : I didn’t see anyone.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : I mean your own house. When you returned, did you see anyone at all? Your mother?
Enes Güran : No, I didn’t.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : Did you see Hediye Güran?
Enes Güran : No, I didn’t.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : You didn’t see Hediye Güran?
Enes Güran : I didn’t.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : How many times did Ms. Hediye go and come that day?
Enes Güran : I only saw her once.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : You only saw her once.
Enes Güran : Yes, when I woke up inside the house.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : After that, she didn’t come back?
Enes Güran : I don’t know.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : So when you returned home at 17:30, Hediye wasn’t there—you’re sure of that. All right. How did you bite your arm? Can you show us?
Enes Güran : Should I?
Presiding Judge : Go ahead.
Enes Güran : No need to show it.
Presiding Judge : Take off your jacket. You can show it clearly. Let’s record it on camera.
Enes Güran : I was sitting on the couch like this. I bit my arm like this and rested it on the couch. My father was sitting by the window. Because I heard the sound of him crying, I bit my arm hard and leaned it toward the couch—so that he wouldn’t get upset again, so he could sleep at night.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : Where did you bite?
Enes Güran : Here, look.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : Can you show it?
Enes Güran : Look—it’s still here, look.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : All right. When you bit, didn’t your body reflexively pull back?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : There are three visible bite marks, and according to the forensic report, at least three to six days had passed. Yet the teeth marks are clearly visible in the photos. Only whether it’s from an adult or not couldn’t be determined. When pain reaches a certain level, the body reflexively pulls away, whether you want it to or not.
Presiding Judge : Counselor, that’s not really a fair question.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : It didn’t?
Presiding Judge : Sometimes in extreme situations, people don’t even realize they’ve been shot until a minute later—or even five minutes. Let’s not go into medical science. Let’s move on.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : Your Honor, there are medical articles about this. We can request an expert opinion later.
Presiding Judge : Let’s not debate medicine here. Leave that to the doctors.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : I only asked because it’s medical data.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : The cornfield—on the day of the incident. What time did you go there?
Enes Güran : It was nighttime.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : Nighttime. Approximately?
Enes Güran : I didn’t have my phone.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : All right. What were you wearing that night?
Enes Güran : A sweatshirt with “Columbia” written on this side.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : I can’t quite hear you.
Enes Güran : A sweatshirt with “Columbia” written on this side. It was all black. And these pants.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : A black sweatshirt. Did you have a jacket?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : No jacket?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : Then how do you explain the marks on your back if you were wearing a sweatshirt?
Enes Güran : The marks on my back came from when we went into the barns on the second or third day. We entered Nevzat Bahtiyar’s barn and also the barns near Süheyla Güran’s house. Those places hadn’t been entered before. I was with Yunus Karacoşan. When we went into the barns near Süheyla Güran’s house, Yunus Karacoşan saw it too. Everything there is nailed and wooden—it’s a rundown place.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : So, the cornfield—those marks on your back, they didn’t happen there?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Aydın Özdemir : Not in the cornfield. All right, thank you. I have no further questions. Thank you.
Presiding Judge : Please state your name. Go ahead.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : You had lunch on the day of the incident. Then Narin looked at the clock, correct? She noticed the time.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : What did she say then?
Enes Güran : “Mom, it’s late. I’m going to the mosque.” My mother said, “It’s hot, dear; don’t go today.” And Narin insisted, “Hatice and Fatma are going to the mosque, so I want to go too.” My mother said okay.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : Did Narin make a gesture with her fingers and say, “There is a course until four o’clock; let me go there”?
Enes Güran : I did not see anything like that.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : All right. You came from work that day—you work in Malatya, correct? Do you receive a salary?
Enes Güran : I do.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : How do you receive your salary?
Enes Güran : Monthly.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : Monthly. Did you receive your salary before you came?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : Why didn’t you receive your salary?
Enes Güran : He couldn’t pay. He was in a difficult situation. I did not insist on asking him for money.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : You came without money?
Enes Güran : Yes. He said, “When you go to Diyarbakır, in three or four days—before the wedding—I’ll send it to you.” I said okay.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : You came from Malatya to Diyarbakır with no money on you?
Enes Güran : My father had transferred me money.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : All right. Then why did your father give you 200 lira again in the morning—and you emphasized this here?
Enes Güran : He gives me cash on hand. My father transferred money to my account. He knows I don’t have cash on me. I am his son and I work for him for months. So, 200 TL in the morning, too.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : You said you met with Muhammed Yağmur when you left the house. How long did your conversation with Muhammed Yağmur last?
Enes Güran : Do you mean only with him, or with Şevket as well?
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : With Muhammed Yağmur.
Enes Güran : About half an hour.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : In your previous statements, you said one and a half hours. Why are you changing your statement now?
Enes Güran : I don’t quite remember the times.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : There is a significant difference between half an hour and one and a half hours. It makes a serious difference whether you sit with someone for half an hour or for one and a half hours. How accurate is it to explain this by saying you don’t remember?
Enes Güran : Very accurate.
Presiding Judge : Let’s avoid argumentative questions. We’ll skip this one, yes.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : When did you ask your brother Osman for slippers?
Enes Güran : Me? All right. I came home around the evening—around half past five. That’s when I asked my brother for slippers.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : After asking Osman for slippers, did you go out again?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : Then why did you ask him to send them to your mother’s phone even though you were going out again?
Enes Güran : Because my battery was low. My battery indicator doesn’t show the exact percentage. When it’s 20% or 15%, it turns red, and it’s unclear when it will shut down. That’s what I want to tell you.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : Yes. All right, that’s natural of course. Since your phone battery would die, you could ask him to send it to your mother’s phone. There’s no dispute there.
Enes Güran : All right.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : But you were not at home—you were going to leave the house. Why did you ask him to send it to your mother’s phone? You wouldn’t see it if it arrived. Why ask for it on your mother’s phone?
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : Are you asking why my brother Osman sent the photos to my mother’s phone? Yes. Why did you ask for them there and not to your own phone? I asked for them that way.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : I have one more question.
Enes Güran : Go ahead.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : In your prison conversations with Eren, as the panel asked as well, you give him suggestions like “Don’t tell anyone. Stay quiet.”
Defense Attorneys : We object.
Presiding Judge : There’s nothing to object to. Objection overruled. Go ahead, Counsel. Ask your question.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : Do you really think you could hide this from Eren? Because I’ll tell you why you could not.
Presiding Judge : Explain whether he could hide that he went to prison.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : Everyone—the entire 85 million—knows you were in prison, the whole Güran family knows. Do you think you could hide this information from Eren?
Enes Güran : We are not hiding information from Eren.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : Then why—just now you said in your statement—right. When explaining the reason for that prison conversation with Eren, you said you didn’t want Eren to know.
Enes Güran : That’s what I’m saying. He is still my little brother. He doesn’t even know his sister was killed. We told him she went on vacation. I didn’t want him to know I went to prison either.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : So, you think there is a possibility Eren wouldn’t know. Eren might not learn this.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Asya Cemre Işık : That’s what you think. All right. That’s all my questions. Thank you.
Presiding Judge : Thank you.
Law. Derya Yıldırım
Law. Derya Yıldırım : I will ask only two points—about two conversations you had in prison. When did you learn how Narin was killed?
Enes Güran : When my lawyers came.
Law. Derya Yıldırım : So, while you were in prison. You didn’t know before. On September 20, 2024, you had a conversation with someone called Uncle İbo.
Enes Güran : Yes, that’s correct.
Law. Derya Yıldırım : And you repeatedly asked whether the report had been issued. Then he said, “Some of the report has come out—her mouth and nose were covered.”
Enes Güran : That’s correct.
Law. Derya Yıldırım : Do you remember what you replied?
Enes Güran : I said if there is something in the report—if anything has come out—tell the lawyers to inform me. That’s how I recall it.
Law. Derya Yıldırım : No—let me tell you what you replied: “When will I get out of here?” You didn’t express any surprise about the manner of Narin’s death. You didn’t say, “How could that be?”—that her mouth and nose were covered…
Enes Güran : Because I wasn’t very close with my uncle İbrahim Güran, and I was always crying with my brother Baran…
Law. Derya Yıldırım : I’m saying you did not react with surprise to the manner of Narin’s death. You directly asked when you would be released. You didn’t show any curiosity—“Was she killed this way?”
Enes Güran : I was in prison; I’m an 18-year-old child. That’s why I said it. Because when the report came out…
Law. Derya Yıldırım : You say you loved Narin very much. Yet you did not find the manner of death odd at all.
Enes Güran : Did you ever see me repeatedly hitting my face in prison? Did you see me banging my head against the walls in the bathroom?
Law. Derya Yıldırım : At the moment you first heard it, you reacted quite normally.
Presiding Judge : Let me reframe the question. Did you take it normally—or were you in shock?
Enes Güran : I was in shock, Your Honor.
Law. Derya Yıldırım : There you also asked your father a question about bite marks not appearing after the third day.
Enes Güran : My father?
Law. Derya Yıldırım : Exactly.
Enes Güran : What did I ask?
Law. Derya Yıldırım : “After the third day, bite marks won’t appear.”
Enes Güran : “Bite marks won’t appear?” I don’t remember.
Law. Derya Yıldırım : And the response to you was something like, “Tell the lawyer, don’t tell me.”
Enes Güran : I don’t remember.
Law. Derya Yıldırım : Then why is it so important to you whether the bite mark appears or not?
Enes Güran : Because I know I bit myself. I bit myself on the third day. It has nothing to do with Narin, my mother, or anyone else.
Law. Derya Yıldırım : Then why do you insist on asking that? That’s what I’m asking—whether the bite mark appears or not…
Presiding Judge : He said he doesn’t remember, Counsel. He said he doesn’t remember.
Law. Derya Yıldırım : That’s all my questions.
Law. Nahit Eren
Law. Nahit Eren : I will ask you questions as counsel for the Diyarbakır Bar.
Enes Güran : Of course, go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : Narin—your sister—who was lost at age eight, first made to go missing, and then we learned she was killed. I’ll ask you about Narin.
Enes Güran : All right, go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : For instance, do you know how many times you have given statements in this case?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : How many times do you think it might have been?
Enes Güran : I don’t know.
Law. Nahit Eren : Let me tell you—you gave statements six times.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Six statements—and as the Presiding Judge said, your narratives about the day’s timeline contradict each other across all of them. I’ll now ask questions by laying out those contradictions.
Enes Güran : All right, go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : In that sense, do you remember when you were first contacted? The first contact—by law enforcement.
Enes Güran : Law enforcement?
Law. Nahit Eren : Law enforcement, yes. When did they first contact you?
Enes Güran : Was it the third day? Or the fourth day? Up on the hill—by Maşallah Güran’s hillside—blood was found among the stones near the house. My first statement was taken there.
Law. Nahit Eren : What did they ask you?
Enes Güran : Where I went, what I was doing where, where I was. They asked these. Why I came from Malatya.
Law. Nahit Eren : Did they ask you, “When did Narin go missing?”
Enes Güran : They did.
Law. Nahit Eren : What did you say?
Enes Güran : I said I last saw her at 1 o’clock.
Law. Nahit Eren : Did they ask you, “When did you learn that Narin was missing?”
Enes Güran : They did.
Law. Nahit Eren : What time did you say?
Enes Güran : Back then I said 04:30.
Law. Nahit Eren : You said 04:30.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : So first it was 04:30 that Narin went missing. In other words, regarding the day Narin went missing—when a person’s mind and memory are sound—the first contact is at 16:00.
Enes Güran : Look—
Law. Nahit Eren : No, I’m asking something. Let me ask my question, then you answer, Enes.
Enes Güran : All right, go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : What was the first time you gave in that first contact—say it again?
Enes Güran : 04:30.
Law. Nahit Eren : 04:30.
Enes Güran : Look, I’m saying this—
Law. Nahit Eren : I’m not asking anything else; you don’t need to elaborate. I want an answer to my question only. Did you say you saw her at 4:30?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Along with seeing her at 04:30, did you say what else you did?
Enes Güran : I don’t remember.
Law. Nahit Eren : If you believed at 04:30 that your sister had gone missing, wouldn’t a person take action?
Enes Güran : I’m telling you I don’t remember. I don’t remember what I spoke about.
Law. Nahit Eren : I’m asking you so that you recall. You learned at 16:30 that your sister was missing.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Did you start searching?
Enes Güran : I said I did.
Law. Nahit Eren : You said you did.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : But you hadn’t?
Enes Güran : I realized at the evening call to prayer that my sister was missing. Around 4 o’clock.
Law. Nahit Eren : The Presiding Judge asked earlier—yes.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : The Prosecutor asked as well.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : “I saw Furkan at 17:30, at 16:00…” How many days have passed? Two months. Almost two months and ten days, right? You remember all of those hour by hour.
Enes Güran : Because these were things I experienced—true things.
Law. Nahit Eren : These first contacts with law enforcement—are those things you didn’t experience, then? From the officers?
Enes Güran : If I speak now, it won’t work.
Law. Nahit Eren : Speak—that’s why we’re here. We’re here to find Narin’s killer, aren’t we? It was 16:00.
Enes Güran : May I speak with my lawyer?
Presiding Judge : You may. Allow him one minute to speak with his lawyer.
Presiding Judge : All right, what are you saying? Say it again. I couldn’t enter it in the minutes; we didn’t record it on SEGBİS.
Av. Yılmaz Demiroğlu : You can enter it in the minutes.
Presiding Judge : All right, go ahead.
Av. Yılmaz Demiroğlu : Your Honor, I am truly proud to be a member of the Diyarbakır Bar Association. Our mission has long been to fight against torture and ill-treatment, and we are proud of that. However, when we first took this case file and first met with the defendants—who were then suspects—they told us they had been subjected to inhuman treatment, that is, ill-treatment by law enforcement. As a former administrator of the Diyarbakır Bar on this matter, we were truly surprised by these allegations. The Bar President at the time had stated they were striving to shed light on the Narin case. We acted with that confidence, and when the hearing began, we stated that even though we are defense counsel, our aim is to serve a conclusion in accordance with justice and equity. With that service mindset…
Law. Nahit Eren : Are we debating the institutional identity of the Diyarbakır Bar? Its superior performance?
Presiding Judge : I don’t understand—we’ll need to wrap this up. I didn’t understand what you meant. Please. Now, let our colleague not speak—give me a moment to understand his point. You speak of respect, and I still don’t grasp his point—how is that respectful? Goodness. Wrap it up.
Av. Yılmaz Demiroğlu : Sir, we all know legally that there isn’t even a right to intervene in this case. But what did we say? Our goal was to uncover the material truth, correct?
At this point, due to simultaneous conversation among the defense attorneys, complainant’s counsel, observers, and the court panel, the audio overlapped and could not be transcribed.
Presiding Judge : That is his own statement. As I said, if you have information on this, filing a criminal complaint with the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is your most natural right. You can submit the relevant information and documents. Then cases can be opened against those responsible for failure to report a crime or for shielding offenders. Mr. Nahit, continue with your questions.
Enes Güran : May I ask something as well?
Presiding Judge : As I said, Enes—you may even repeat the insults the other side used. There is no problem whatsoever. If you wish to speak now…
Law. Nahit Eren : Your Honor. A moment ago, you judges expressed your perspective and approach to this case. Please allow me to respond as well. My colleague reminded us that he served for many years on the bar’s executive board. Let me also remind you—we served together. He knows well how we fought against torture. The family came to me twice before spring; I believe I even heard someone from the family shouting at me from the gallery just now. The family came to me, and in all my meetings I met together with my fellow board members—who are all in the courtroom. When they first came, they told me this: while in custody, our relatives were subjected to ill-treatment and torture. I told them: since all the lawyers assigned from the Diyarbakır Bar Association under the CMK are CMK-appointed counsel, if there is any allegation of ill-treatment or torture, please make sure these are recorded in the minutes during the statement. I have three lawyer colleagues, and when the family members who came to the bar raised this allegation, I asked them: could you tell us to whom, and in what manner, it was done? Perhaps they are listening in the courtroom now. Some said a tooth was pulled; some said a nail was pulled; some said punches were thrown to the face, iron rods used on the head; some said they were taken before their mother with high-pressure water—many things were described. I said: please file an application with us regarding these matters; they were in the process of retaining counsel. I said: file an application with us about this. In fact, one of the family members called someone after the remand on the 12^th and subsequent releases. “Come to the bar and explain what they did to you—file an application,” he said. “I can’t come and file an application,” he replied. And why did he say he wouldn’t apply? In short, they said they wouldn’t file any application on this matter. There has not been a single application to the Diyarbakır Bar Association concerning allegations of torture. This was the conversation. Afterwards, not only did the family refrain from making any application to us on this matter—regardless of this file or any file—if a suspect, perpetrator, defendant, whatever you call them, has been subjected to torture, we stand against that as well. We would continue the legal struggle for that too. But in the courtroom, let us avoid language and discourse that would put the institutional identity of the Diyarbakır Bar Association up for debate and place us as the target regarding our participation in this case. I am here so that those responsible for the violation of the right to life of eight-year-old Narin receive the punishment they deserve.
Presiding Judge : All right. Enough. Can we move on to the conclusion now? All right, Mr. Eren will ask his question directly. Mr. Presiding Judge.
Law. Nahit Eren : Mr. Presiding Judge. Let’s return to the question about the contradictions. Not as a suspect’s statement—I mentioned an interview record. All right. I’m referring to the interview conducted in front of your house at 8 o’clock. All right, again. What’s the date? The 23rd. Two days after the day Narin went missing.
Presiding Judge : All right, Counsel, let’s return to the question. Go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : I asked the question.
Presiding Judge : Ask it again so we can recall. The topic derailed.
Law. Nahit Eren : I asked whether, after saying she was lost at 04:30—after saying she went missing at 4:30—you went to search or not.
Presiding Judge : Ah, all right.
Law. Nahit Eren : And he said, “I will address these with my lawyers.”
Presiding Judge : All right. Now ask the question again. Military friends, could you sit down? Sit. Let’s take the question again. Go ahead, Enes. I’m listening.
Law. Nahit Eren : Your Honor, my first statement was taken in Tavşantepe—at the place where blood was found. Your Honor, three people surrounded me. They asked me: what did you do? Where did you go? Your Honor, I don’t remember anything after four o’clock. I had gone toward the fountain, to the grocery, then up the hill to sit. I don’t remember those events as it is. I told them that as well. That’s what I mean.
Presiding Judge : All right. Go ahead, Counsel.
Law. Nahit Eren : In that interview, you were also asked about the bruise on your eye.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Do you remember what you answered?
Enes Güran : I used to say it must have happened in the cornfield.
Law. Nahit Eren : Shall I tell you what you said?
Enes Güran : Please do.
Law. Nahit Eren : You stated that due to the mental depression you fell into over Narin Güran’s disappearance, you inflicted self-harm.
Enes Güran : That’s what I want to explain. On the first night, in the cornfield. Do you still have a question, or shall I answer?
Presiding Judge : Answer.
Enes Güran : On the first night, while searching for my sister in the cornfield, Berzan Güran received a call—“They say Narin has been found at the hospital”—and we set out. My uncle is Barış Güran. I got into his car and went to the hospital. When they determined it wasn’t her at the hospital, my father’s crying, my brother’s crying, and Barış Güran arguing with my brother—I couldn’t stand it. I returned to the village. Then my mother’s crying, my father’s crying—those sounds still in my ears—and because my brother was upset, I withdrew to a corner and struck my face repeatedly.
Presiding Judge : All right.
Law. Mustafa Demir : Pardon, Your Honor. Something might have been recorded incorrectly; let me confirm. Our colleague just asked about the interview, correct? The 16:30 matter does not appear in the interview.
Presiding Judge : It’s not very important. It’s an interview, an investigative note. The point, Counsel, is the same thing I asked as well. Enes has an investigative note, and there are oral interviews, and in the staged statements there are contradictions about going out to search around 16:30. I asked the same question; Mr. Nahit is asking the same. It’s not a big deal. It’s a note, an investigative note, an interview.
Law. Nahit Eren : I’m losing focus while asking questions—my concentration.
Presiding Judge : Yes. I’m aware.
Law. Nahit Eren : It’s not an appropriate method for the defendant either.
Presiding Judge : Yes, I know it isn’t.
Law. Nahit Eren : It’s not a sound method, procedurally. I mean, finally—
Presiding Judge : You must be hungry. We’ve taken the statements; perhaps it’s time for everyone—grandmothers, caregivers—to have some liver to eat. Please, ask quickly so folks can eat and settle their nerves.
Law. Nahit Eren : I couldn’t ask—we’ve been interrupted four times.
Law. Nahit Eren : On the 24th, you gave another statement. An informational statement. There, you say 16:30 to the gendarmerie—this time as information.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Not an interview, but informational. The gendarmerie makes an observation about you—and you may decline to answer. The main point we object to is this: on the 23rd, when the interview was conducted with you, there’s a characterization—they describe your uneasiness.
Presiding Judge : One moment. May I take that phone? May I take that phone? Officers, seize that phone immediately. Immediately! Is there a phone recording there? Am I seeing wrong? Counsel with the glasses on your head—you. I saw a phone in front of you. Is that a reflection in your glasses? Is there a phone there?
Voice from the crowd : It’s the glasses, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : All right. Glasses. I saw a reflection.
Enes Güran : Shall I answer your question?
Presiding Judge : We interrupted again.
Law. Nahit Eren : In your statement on the 24th, you say she went missing at 16:30.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Then on the 25th another statement is taken from you.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : On 25.08 at 11:30.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : There again you are asked about the bite on your arm. Again you say you punched yourself.
Enes Güran : About the bite on my arm—about your eye.
Law. Nahit Eren : You say, “I punched myself.”
Enes Güran : Yes. Perhaps while searching the cornfield, a corn stalk also touched it. I don’t remember. Because when we went to the gendarmerie about the corn—I mean when I later looked at myself, I had slight scratches on my face and slight discoloration. That’s when I remembered that after the cornfield and after going to the hospital, after the crying, I went home and injured myself—I told them that there as well.
Presiding Judge : Now, Enes. I asked again, and I’ll ask the same thing once more. Mr. Presiding Judge, forgive me for interjecting. Did you have relations with any of Salim’s daughters, and when you were caught for that, did Salim beat you?
Enes Güran : No.
Presiding Judge : That’s the allegation. There’s no such thing?
Enes Güran : No.
Presiding Judge : All right. Go ahead, Counsel.
Law. Nahit Eren : One question. On the 25th, you said it might be due to the corn, correct?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : They brought you in, and you gave a statement at the prosecutor’s office.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : At the prosecutor’s office, they asked you a question—just like I’m asking. Why, in your first statements, did you say it wasn’t due to corn but because you punched yourself in the face?
Enes Güran : All right.
Law. Nahit Eren : Do you remember what you answered?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : Shall I read it to you? Maybe you’ll remember—because it’s important.
Enes Güran : All right, please read.
Law. Nahit Eren : You said: “After I went to the forensic medicine institute, when they said there were scratches, I shifted to the corn explanation.”
Enes Güran : I did not say I “shifted to corn.”
Law. Nahit Eren : “This was due to corn. Because I thought the scratches could be due to corn, from now on I say corn.” Yet in earlier statements you had already said it could be due to corn.
Enes Güran : I say corn, and then I also say I injured myself.
Presiding Judge : Counsel, is that commentary? Read it.
Law. Nahit Eren : It’s a statement. I’ll read and then ask. I already asked based on the statement. It says so there. I have it memorized. I’m asking.
Presiding Judge : Read precisely one passage—before there’s an objection for commentary.
Law. Nahit Eren : On 08/23/2024—question: In the interview record, after the statement from law enforcement was read to you that the bruise on your eye was due to self-harm stemming from the depression you were in, you said: “At that time I was not fully aware. But when I was taken to the forensic medicine institute and they said there were small scratches, it occurred to me that it could have been in the cornfield, and then I framed my statement that way.”
Enes Güran : When I went to the Istanbul forensic medicine, the female doctor there examined me and asked where the slight cuts on my eye came from. I said it could also be from the cornfield, because after the cornfield I hit myself. She said okay. As for the marks on my waist—
Law. Nahit Eren : No—look, I’m trying to establish this point.
Enes Güran : Please.
Law. Nahit Eren : You give that answer to the forensic medicine, but even before going there you said it was due to corn. That’s the contradiction I’m asking you about.
Enes Güran : Didn’t I tell you from the start that it was the cornfield?
Law. Nahit Eren : All right, you did.
Enes Güran : All right.
Law. Nahit Eren : But the prosecutors ask you: why do you now say “punch” instead of “corn”? And you say: after I went to Istanbul and came back, I realized it was corn. Yet in earlier statements you also mentioned corn.
Enes Güran : When was this statement taken? May I ask you that, Counsel? When my sister’s body was found—even after—
Law. Nahit Eren : 09/12/2024
Enes Güran : The 12^th, right?
Law. Nahit Eren : Yes.
Enes Güran : And then you say we went to court and then to prison, correct?
Law. Nahit Eren : You hadn’t gone yet—the prosecutor’s office.
Enes Güran : When we stood before the prosecutors, we were not ourselves. We were not.
Law. Nahit Eren : All right, you can explain that. You can also file a criminal complaint. State it plainly. Are you saying these statements were taken under torture, ill-treatment, coercion—that none of them are true?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : All right, you may say that.
Presiding Judge : All right, let me ask this way. The statement you gave on 12.09, taken by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office—was it taken under torture?
Enes Güran : It was taken after I was subjected to torture.
Presiding Judge : Yet even there he doesn’t confess to the crime. There is no statement like “Enes confessed,” even if we accept torture. Aside from the time discrepancy we mentioned, there’s no contradiction with the other statements. In any case, you do not accept those statements, correct? You do not accept the statements taken by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office because they were given under torture. All right, I’ve entered that into the record.
Law. Nahit Eren : I’m asking these questions truly to resolve contradictions, Enes. If you recall, you were taken into custody and brought to Istanbul.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Your arm was examined at the forensic medicine institute. You returned and were released.
Enes Güran : Correct.
Law. Nahit Eren : After being released, when you went to the village—
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Where did you go first?
Enes Güran : First?
Law. Nahit Eren : Yes.
Enes Güran : I went home. No—Hüseyin Güran.
Law. Nahit Eren : When you went to your uncle Hüseyin Güran’s house, who was there?
Enes Güran : Hüseyin Güran was sitting there. He is my uncle. I hugged him first because he was ill and had seen me in the gendarmerie with handcuffs, and afterwards they told me he had been very distressed seeing me like that. He said we should go to them first. When we went there, I saw Hüseyin Güran. I think Muzaffer Güran was there. And, I think, Osman Güran.
Law. Nahit Eren : Do you remember what you discussed?
Enes Güran : My uncle only asked, “What happened? What did they say?” I told him what happened. Then I went upstairs, washed my hands and face, sat there for a while, and then went home.
Law. Nahit Eren : Now, regarding your claim that the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office took your statement—may I ask you something based on that statement?
Enes Güran : Go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : Did you meet with Birsen and Melike?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : After your release on the 29th—
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Did you meet with them?
Enes Güran : I did go to their house—I told you I went to wash my hands and face, right? Yes, I said I went to wash up. I sat, as I said. Berzan Güran was there. Muhammed Kaya was there. Abdurrahman Güran was there, and Birsen Kaya—Birsen Güran, pardon. She was sitting on a chair and crying.
Law. Nahit Eren : Did you have a conversation with Birsen or Melike?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : All right, they ask you a question.
Enes Güran : Go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : They read to you the statements of Maşallah, Birsen, and Melike Güran.
Enes Güran : To me?
Law. Nahit Eren : Yes, at the prosecutor’s office. Why do they read you the statements of Birsen, Melike, and Maşallah? You know very well that’s the subject. They—Maşallah—pardon, from the very first day they have consistently stated that they saw Narin at 17:40.
Enes Güran : That’s correct.
Law. Nahit Eren : So everyone in this courtroom now knows that Narin was killed—murdered—between 13:11 and 13:40.
Enes Güran : That’s correct.
Law. Nahit Eren : But they had said she came to their door at 15:40, knocked, and left. Regarding this—
Presiding Judge : Anyway, not very important. Let’s not intervene.
Law. Nahit Eren : 17:40—pardon, 17:40. 17:40. All right. 17:40. 17:40. We now know she was killed between 11 and 15:40.
Enes Güran : All right.
Law. Nahit Eren : Yet Birsen and Melike claimed they saw her at 17:40.
Enes Güran : All right.
Law. Nahit Eren : In fact, Maşallah also said that since Birsen opened the door, he told me the person at the door was Narin.
Enes Güran : All right.
Law. Nahit Eren : Did you never discuss this with Birsen? I’ll read something. Your Honor, I’ll read again.
Presiding Judge : Of course—better if you read it.
Law. Nahit Eren : “We have no issue or hostility with these individuals or with my uncle Hüseyin. I don’t know why they made such statements.”
Enes Güran : That’s correct.
Law. Nahit Eren : “In fact, when I first returned to the village after being taken into custody, I asked Birsen—telling her to think carefully. For a year. I asked her to think carefully.” I just said something earlier. We all now know she died between 15:11 and 15:40.
Enes Güran : That’s correct.
Law. Nahit Eren : According to the evidence in the file.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : “I asked. She said she was sure Narin had come. In my own mind I thought it would not have been possible for Narin to go to them at that hour…” You continue. What do you mean by the sentence “it would not have been possible for Narin to go to them at that hour”?
Enes Güran : I don’t remember. I don’t remember even when I gave that statement.
Law. Nahit Eren : On the 29th you were released. You go home.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : You have this conversation. Until Narin’s body was found at Eğertutmaz creek on the 8th–9th, none of us knew Narin was killed between 15:11 and 15:40.
Enes Güran : That’s correct.
Law. Nahit Eren : Yet you make such a statement, and based on that I arrive at this conclusion and ask the question.
Enes Güran : Go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : You thought it would not have been possible for Narin to go to them at that hour. Why did you think that?
Enes Güran : They say the cameras show her going up toward the hill, and then from the hill—a person—Your Honor, at the houses above ours, someone told us there was a man I didn’t recognize looking at me sharply and driving fast in his car. We suspected that man, and because of that, we didn’t know whether Narin had gone there or not.
Law. Nahit Eren : So as of that day you didn’t ask based on information that she was killed between 15:11 and 15:30–15:40.
Enes Güran : Yes. I did not ask.
Law. Nahit Eren : All right. There was mention earlier of the narrow cell analysis. If you wish, with the court’s permission, I’ll explain—base station data are ultimately evidence in the file. My colleagues objected, and of course the court will evaluate them. But the court has not yet ruled on their admissibility or exclusion. In that regard, I will ask you questions based on that evidence.
Enes Güran : Go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : The Prosecutor also asked you.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : At 15:57, it shows you left the house.
Enes Güran : 15:57.
Law. Nahit Eren : Yes.
Enes Güran : All right.
Law. Nahit Eren : It shows you went to Salim’s house.
Enes Güran : I definitely did not go there.
Law. Nahit Eren : You didn’t go to Salim’s house that day at all.
Enes Güran : I did not go at all.
Law. Nahit Eren : Did you have any phone call with Salim that day?
Enes Güran : Absolutely not.
Law. Nahit Eren : You didn’t meet face to face? During the search?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : While searching at night?
Enes Güran : No. While searching for Narin?
Law. Nahit Eren : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : All right, you just said something earlier—you said you went out twice.
Enes Güran : Correct.
Law. Nahit Eren : The base station tells us you did not leave the house. Even if you had left your phone at home and gone out, it would still accept that you left the house. Because here the phone is our footprints.
Enes Güran : All right.
Law. Nahit Eren : That’s what we mean by base. Now, when you first went up the hill, you tell a story—you describe a sequence of events. You say you went, that you had contact with people, then you returned.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : On your second time out—yes—you say you met with Furkan and Umut and also with Yusuf. Ufuk, Furkan—yes—Yusuf.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Your mother mentions someone named İsa. Was she mistaken? Do you think she misspoke?
Enes Güran : İsa wasn’t there at that time.
Law. Nahit Eren : İsa wasn’t there. All right, let me ask: did Furkan call you at all that day?
Enes Güran : Furkan came up the hill—to us. He said, “I’ve been calling you; why aren’t you answering my calls?” I said, “Try calling again. My phone is at home and on charge.” I told that to Furkan.
Law. Nahit Eren : All right. Did you have a chance to read Furkan’s statement?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : I’ll tell you something from Furkan’s statement and then ask.
Enes Güran : All right, go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : Furkan says, “I came home at 18:00.”
Enes Güran : All right.
Law. Nahit Eren : That means you were not yet on the hill at 18:00.
Enes Güran : Correct.
Law. Nahit Eren : Do you remember the time?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : You don’t. He says, “I came home at 18:00. When I first arrived, I saw Ufuk sitting alone on the hill.”
Enes Güran : Ufuk.
Law. Nahit Eren : “I went inside, took a shower, came out. This time Ufuk and Enes were sitting together. They were sitting together.” Is that true or not?
Enes Güran : That is not true.
Law. Nahit Eren : One more thing.
Enes Güran : Go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : Ufuk—you haven’t read his statement either?
Enes Güran : No, I haven’t.
Law. Nahit Eren : Ufuk says—do you know who Ufuk’s grandfather is?
Enes Güran : His grandfather? Yes, I know—how would I not?
Law. Nahit Eren : Who?
Enes Güran : I don’t recall the exact name.
Law. Nahit Eren : All right. He says, “While I was at my grandfather’s house, Furkan came from work.”
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : “When Furkan arrived, it was between 17:00 and 17:30, and when he arrived, he called Enes. When he called Enes on the phone, I went to drink water. He told me, ‘I called Enes—he just woke up from sleep and is heading up the hill. You go; I’ll come too.’”
Enes Güran : No—absolutely not.
Law. Nahit Eren : I’m asking whether such a call took place.
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : There was no call. In any case, Ufuk’s and Furkan’s statements contradict each other. After I went there—
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : When your mother came—she came and told you not to smoke—
Enes Güran : She came down and called me to close the window.
Law. Nahit Eren : Was Furkan with you at that moment?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : Did Furkan come later?
Enes Güran : He came later.
Law. Nahit Eren : Furkan later came over to you. When Your Honor asked earlier and you explained your sequence of events, you said, “I went back up again,” after putting the turkeys away. Did you go back up to your friends again? You went back to your friends once more.
Enes Güran : When I put the turkeys away and closed the window?
Law. Nahit Eren : Yes.
Enes Güran : Yes, I went.
Law. Nahit Eren : They also say—Furkan says—that his mother never came to us.
Enes Güran : Because when my mother came at that time, Furkan wasn’t with us.
Law. Nahit Eren : He wasn’t with you?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Do you think Furkan actually described the incident correctly?
Enes Güran : Correct. Furkan didn’t see my mother at all then.
Law. Nahit Eren : Furkan never saw your mother.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : A moment ago, my colleague asked—he said, “Show us your arm.”
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : You showed it.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : You said maybe it was overlooked at the time. “I bit it.” Then did you say you placed it on something? Did I misunderstand?
Enes Güran : I said I was sitting on the couch. I opened my arm like this. By biting it like this, I bit down hard and let it drop toward the couch—just so my sobbing wouldn’t reach my father.
Law. Nahit Eren : Who else was in the room besides you?
Enes Güran : No one.
Law. Nahit Eren : You were alone?
Enes Güran : I was alone.
Law. Nahit Eren : All right. The Prosecutor also asked; I’ll ask as well.
Enes Güran : Please, go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : This is the sort of question one wants to ask in the ordinary course of life. It’s the same question I asked Nevzat while he was here.
Enes Güran : Go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : Just as I asked Nevzat whether, if this were a normal disappearance, the father—or rather Salim—should or shouldn’t have called him, I’ll ask you something similar. You have the right not to answer. I’ll ask this: if a person’s sibling goes missing, the thing one needs most for communication is the phone, isn’t it?
Enes Güran : Correct.
Law. Nahit Eren : For example, can you give an explanation that would satisfy everyone here as to why you didn’t take your phone with you?
Enes Güran : Of course I can explain. Because, Your Honor, when my mother took the phone and called Hediye and others, when we went up the hill with my mother and my brother Muhammed toward Maşallah Güran’s house, Maşallah Güran said he hadn’t come to our home—said “no”—and I panicked. I immediately took Muhammed and went down toward the mosque. I went down the same road as at four o’clock. Down the same way. And I sent Muhammed to Azize Kaya’s house. I was calling for Narin softly near the mosque. I wasn’t thinking about the phone or my family or my father—only, “Where is Narin?”
Law. Nahit Eren : So at that moment, while calling out, you didn’t feel any need for a phone.
Enes Güran : No. In fact, when I went into the cornfield, I used Yunus Karacoşan’s phone to turn on the light.
Law. Nahit Eren : All right. You said that when you got home and woke up, you saw Hediye.
Enes Güran : Correct.
Law. Nahit Eren : You said you and Hediye asked about each other.
Enes Güran : Correct.
Law. Nahit Eren : Do you know when Hediye left your house?
Enes Güran : I don’t know. How would I know?
Law. Nahit Eren : In other words, you didn’t see her—no?
Enes Güran : When I saw my aunt-in-law Hediye, I left and went downstairs. I didn’t see her again.
Law. Nahit Eren : Hediye says she stayed in your house for about two hours. She said, “When I went out, it looked like Enes was coming in from outside.” Is that a lie?
Enes Güran : I definitely didn’t see Hediye Güran in that way.
Law. Nahit Eren : You didn’t see Hediye at home?
Enes Güran : No. I only saw her around four o’clock when I woke up and asked about her. I didn’t see her otherwise.
Law. Nahit Eren : After you went out and came back, you didn’t see Hediye at home again?
Enes Güran : No. I didn’t.
Presiding Judge : Hediye says this: “While I was at the house, Enes was there. Later, I saw Enes at the door from outside. I don’t know when he went out and came back.” The counsel is asking about that. Since you said you didn’t remember, we didn’t go into the details of Hediye’s statements. We’ll ask again when Hediye testifies.
Law. Nahit Eren : You didn’t see Hediye again.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : When you first went out with Muhammed, you went to the fountain and came back, right?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Then you’re talking about your brother Muhammed Emre, correct?
Enes Güran : Yes, I’m talking about Emre.
Law. Nahit Eren : Have you read Muhammed Emre’s statement?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : Do you think Muhammed Emre is at an age where he can express himself properly?
Enes Güran : Well, as long as the child knows his sibling is missing, I don’t think he’s at that level yet.
Law. Nahit Eren : When Hediye came to visit you, do you remember what Muhammed was doing?
Enes Güran : I don’t know exactly when Hediye came. You mean when I woke up, right? I just saw that Muhammed was lying down.
Law. Nahit Eren : Muhammed was lying down. Since you were awake, he later came to you.
Enes Güran : All right.
Law. Nahit Eren : When Muhammed came to you, did he say who was in the house at that time?
Enes Güran : No.
Law. Nahit Eren : When Muhammed woke up, would he have been in a position to see Hediye in the house?
Enes Güran : Well, when I was lying down…
Law. Nahit Eren : Were you all in the same room?
Enes Güran : We were all in the same room. If he had woken up at that hour and seen Hediye Güran, he would have said so.
Law. Nahit Eren : In all his statements, Muhammed says, “I didn’t see Hediye that day.”
Enes Güran : Well, I only woke up around four o’clock. Let me describe the sofa for you, brother. My mother was on this side, Hediye Güran was lying on that side. They were sitting. I was lying on the side near the window, where the air conditioner blows. When I woke up, I said, “Welcome, Aunt Hediye.” She said, “Thank you,” and after that, I went downstairs through the door.
Presiding Judge : Yes, Mr. Prosecutor, go ahead.
Trial Prosecutor : I’ll make one statement to support my Presiding Judge. You say you didn’t see Hediye. Hediye says about you, “When Enes was coming in from outside, I was going out the door.” She says this happened around 17:00–17:30. She even says Enes’s mother called out, “Enes, why did you come back early?” And Enes, you replied, “There was no one outside.” Hediye even describes this dialogue. So, Hediye is saying that you came back home at that time.
Enes Güran : There’s no such thing.
Presiding Judge : Since you said you didn’t remember, we didn’t go into the details of Hediye’s statement. We’ll ask about it again when Hediye testifies.
Law. Nahit Eren : All right, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : Let’s wrap it up now. I’m asking you, please.
Law. Nahit Eren : I’ll finish after this question. You said you gave a statement to the prosecution under torture and ill-treatment. Were the assessments you made about Salim also given under that pressure and torture, or were the descriptions you made about Salim true?
Enes Güran : They are not true.
Law. Nahit Eren : No—Salim—actually, I mean Nevzat, pardon me. You made a description about Nevzat, didn’t you?
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : That description—the one you made about Nevzat—was it given under that torture?
Enes Güran : No torture was inflicted on me about Nevzat.
Law. Nahit Eren : Only by Salim Güran, you say, you were tortured. No, all right.
Presiding Judge : So, he says what he said about Nevzat is true.
Law. Nahit Eren : The things you said about Nevzat were not statements made under pressure or torture.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Let’s have you describe Nevzat for us.
Law. Nahit Eren : “He’s a filthy man. Huh. I’ll speak frankly. He’s a filthy man—the filthiest man in the village. He comes and goes, but no one ever asks anything of him. Whether he went to work, what he did—no one knows. There’s a car under him, one under his son, one under him again. In fact, one of my lawyers—probably here—said that. He was his lawyer, I think. He even said, ‘Nevzat started staying in Çarıklı at night. At that time, while we were in custody, my uncle Barış Güran came himself,’ he said. ‘I personally took the gendarmerie officers to their house, and when Nevzat tried to escape through the window, they caught him there,’ he said.”
Law. Nahit Eren : So, how would you describe the relationship between Nevzat and Salim?
Enes Güran : As far as I know, Nevzat and Salim—Salim Güran—are friends. I used to see them together quite often. They were always side by side.
Law. Nahit Eren : We’re reasoning here about what “friends” means between two people, so I’m asking these questions to clarify the statement.
Enes Güran : All right, go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : About someone who’s a friend—you said this sentence: “He’s such a cowardly person that he wouldn’t question what Salim says.” A man so cowardly he wouldn’t question Salim’s words.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Is that a friendship? In that friendship, would he be someone cowardly enough to carry a body—I mean, pardon me—Narin’s body? Or, if their relationship is one of submission, is he someone who would carry it without question? Because when they read that statement to you, they asked you about it, and that’s why I’m asking this question now.
Enes Güran : Go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : You said this person—this person—is a coward.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : And you know the relationship between this cowardly man and Salim.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : They have ties, a friendship.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : They spend time together. There are even statements saying they went to restaurants together. In your statement, you said that Nevzat is such a cowardly man that he would not question what Salim says.
Enes Güran : May I explain why?
Law. Nahit Eren : Go ahead.
Enes Güran : Because Nevzat is the poorest man in the village, has nothing, and has no friends. Salim Güran, on the other hand, is the village headman and can do whatever he wants. For example, he can go to the prosecutor’s office. If there’s an objection to something, Nevzat might call him and say, “Can you handle this issue for me?” So, I said that to mean he didn’t want to spoil his good relationship with Salim.
Presiding Judge : Let me ask you very plainly.
Enes Güran : Go ahead, Your Honor.
Presiding Judge : The counsel asked politely, but I’ll ask directly, as a friend would. If Salim killed—pardon me—if Salim killed and told Nevzat, “Hide the body,” would Nevzat do it?
Enes Güran : He would not.
Presiding Judge : That’s it. That’s the blunt version of the question, correct? All right. You just phrased it more elegantly; I asked it more directly.
Presiding Judge : Because these are statements made under pressure.
Presiding Judge : I understand, but I asked in a straightforward way he could clearly grasp. When you asked it in more polished words, it got complicated. Go ahead, please continue.
Law. Nahit Eren : I’ll ask you one last question.
Enes Güran : Go ahead.
Law. Nahit Eren : Our colleagues asked you as well. We have all your prison conversations in the file—all of them, including the video calls and recordings.
Enes Güran : That’s correct. They were even leaked on social media—the recordings of my conversations with my family.
Law. Nahit Eren : Yes, that’s what I’m referring to. You spoke with your family, your father, your brother—all of them.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Something caught my attention. Please answer as Narin’s brother.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : Please. In all your conversations, especially with your brother Baran—
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : You constantly show interest in the case file.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : You constantly ask about the reports.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : You ask about the carpets being sent to Van. You ask about your toothbrush.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : You say, “I kissed Narin—something that wasn’t in any of your statements—before going to the mosque. Brother, could that cause any trouble?” Your brother even asks, “Did you tell the lawyers that?” and you reply, “No, I didn’t.” Now, I want to ask you this: whenever you bring up such topics, you keep asking about the report.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : When we, as criminal lawyers, see someone so curious about a report, we tend to think they’re worried about the possibility of incriminating evidence emerging. I’m asking you openly—were you afraid of anything coming out in those reports?
Enes Güran : Absolutely not. Definitely not.
Law. Nahit Eren : When you asked about the toothbrush, what were you thinking? For example, you said Narin brushed her teeth with your toothbrush that morning.
Enes Güran : Yes.
Law. Nahit Eren : When you said, “Brother, could that cause any trouble?” what exactly did you mean?
Enes Güran : That morning, before Narin used my toothbrush, I had already used it. Later, when she used my toothbrush, I was already in prison. For the first time in my life, I was in a prison cell.
Law. Nahit Eren : That’s what I’m asking.
Enes Güran : Yes, that’s it. It was my first time in prison in my life. I had never even seen a police station before. And in there—between those four walls—some guards behave harshly, say bad things, and it’s hard to bear. When a person has no father or family behind them, they can’t speak up. As for why I was so curious about the reports—it’s because I thought, “When my sister’s report comes out, the killers will be revealed, and it will prove we are innocent.” As for the carpets, we were treated so badly at the provincial gendarmerie—insults, curses—and when my mother was tortured and later watched the video of it being played aloud in front of me, it broke me psychologically. That’s why I became suspicious when they questioned me. I’m telling the truth.
Law. Nahit Eren : What kind of suspicion?
Enes Güran : They said things like, “Nevzat did this,” “He did that with Salim,” “He was involved.” So many accusations. But if the gendarmerie had treated us properly, humanely, we would have told them everything from the beginning. Because from the very first day, I’ve been telling the truth to the soldiers and everyone. From the beginning, I’ve wanted my sister to be found.
Law. Nahit Eren : What was your concern, technically speaking, about the toothbrush?
Enes Güran : I didn’t know what the report would say—whether it would show traces or not. She had used my toothbrush after all, even though I was innocent.
Presiding Judge : So, you’re saying it was a question asked out of fear and panic, in short.
Enes Güran : Yes. For example, right now I’m staying in solitary confinement, but my family doesn’t know that.
Presiding Judge : Does the Diyarbakır Bar Association have any further questions? No. Representative of Mr. Arif Güran, do you have any questions? No. Ministry of Family and Social Services, any questions without repetition? Counsel, we’ll address contradictions later. For now, we’ll take only questions. Please, state your name.
Defense Counsel for Enes Güran
Law. Mustafa Demir
Law. Mustafa Demir : A truly incomprehensible investigation has been carried out—I’m struggling to find the right words. The prison conversations my client had with his family have been included in the file. These recordings even appear in the indictment, and all of them were deliberately included. They were intentionally leaked to social media—this case is entirely built on perception, and that perception is still being fueled.
Presiding Judge : Who released those recordings of the prison conversations?
Law. Mustafa Demir : We don’t know.
Presiding Judge : There’s an allegation that you released them yourselves, to shape public perception.
Law. Mustafa Demir : Yes, yes, as if to create the impression that “Look, the family is laughing.”
Presiding Judge : I don’t know. When I was asked, as the court, I said all videos are accessible to the parties, including the defense attorneys.
Law. Mustafa Demir : Their inclusion in the file is already debatable—that’s a separate matter. We didn’t object to it then, because everyone already knew everything. We didn’t want it to seem like we were hiding something. We have no such concern. We said, “Let it be discussed.” But we also want to state here that since these recordings constitute illegally obtained evidence, they should be removed from the file. Why? Because the conversations were cut and edited. If the full conversations were listened to—there are two calls—one with his brother Eren, and one with his six-year-old brother. In that call, he says, “Don’t talk to anyone.” But if you listen to the beginning, it’s about normal things—“How are you, brother? I’m fine,” he says. “I’m working here, don’t worry.” Let’s not forget—his six-year-old brother lost his sister. The whole family was devastated. His mother was detained, the child lost his sister, one brother is gone, and the father is completely exhausted. So trying to protect the child from others’ words is a human reaction. Taking only that sentence—“Don’t talk to anyone”—out of context to twist it is unfair. The indictment itself is forced. Soon we’ll show many examples. For instance, the question about the phone and WhatsApp—you’ll see what it really means. Everyone will understand. The precedent cited here is from the 18^th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, 2016. In that case, a convicted person insulted a deputy director during a prison call. The trial court convicted him; the Court of Cassation overturned it. The Chief Public Prosecutor appealed under Article 308, and by majority vote—not unanimous—a ruling was made. It stated: “If a person is detained or convicted, they are under the state’s supervision. Monitoring is permissible to prevent or detect crimes.” But that’s to prevent a new crime, not to prosecute a person already in custody. Our situation is entirely different.
Presiding Judge : We’ll review all of that.
Law. Mustafa Demir : Article 135 of the Code of Criminal Procedure clearly regulates this. These cannot be used as evidence. My client has already explained his concerns openly. Everyone listened to selective parts of the conversations—let them listen to all of them. If they’re public everywhere, let everyone hear the full context—how the child cried, how the family struggled to talk at first, and what happened later. We’re stating clearly that this is illegally obtained evidence. We didn’t object at first, but as you’ll see throughout the case, there are multiple such examples. This is one of them, and we’re formally objecting to this evidence.