Testimony of Salim Güran

Reading Time ~ 1 h 29 min

Word Count 16977

Presiding Judge ​

Presiding Judge : Yes, the indictment has been delivered to you. You’ve read it and are aware of the accusations against you.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Presiding Judge : You have attorneys. To remind you again, you have the right to answer or not answer the questions. You also have the right to remain silent. Will you testify in the presence of your attorney? I’m listening. Go ahead.​

Salim Güran : As usual, I wake up early in the morning. We had hired an irrigator, on a percentage basis—eight percent.​

Presiding Judge : Please speak a little louder.​

Salim Güran : After that, every morning, we go to the field before them or together. When I go, I don’t just sit around. I work. I’ve been a farmer for as long as I can remember—everyone knows that. That day, I woke up in the morning again, and we went to the field together and worked. I went to the well between Karakoç and Tavşantepe—there’s one there, and another below. We sat up there, ate, drank, sat around. Around 10 or 11, I came home. I told my children, “There’s a wedding. Let’s go buy you some clothes.” Except for my son Devran, we all got in the car. We went to Diyarbakır Bağlar Family Health Center and bought clothes for them. On the way back, before reaching the police checkpoint in Çarıklı, I stopped at the Opet station and got TRY 200 worth of fuel. Then I headed from Çarıklı toward the village. We got home around 2:45–2:50 p.m. It was hot. They turned on the air conditioner. My wife prepared food for me. I ate, then lay down to rest for about an hour or an hour and twenty minutes. After resting, I got up, got in the car, and went back to the upper well. While I was there, two electricians came. I asked, “What’s the matter?” They said, “There’s a malfunction in the transformer belonging to your uncle Mehmet Şerif Güran’s son. We came for that.” I said, “Yes, that’s true, it’s been sparking lately.” They said, “Come with us.” The field road was rough, and their car was old—a blue Şahin. They sat down and even ate some watermelon. Then we went together. At Mehmet Şerif’s field, the transformer wasn’t near the car; we had to walk quite a distance. I walked through the cotton plants. I know cotton; I’ve been a farmer all my life. I checked and saw that worms had started appearing on the cotton. I called my cousin and said, “My cotton looks good, but unfortunately it’s infested. You should spray it.” He said, “All right, cousin.” He called again later and asked, “What should I spray it with?” I said, “Buy Krojen.” So we talked on the phone—spray insecticide and so on. Meanwhile, Abdulsamet and the other electrician—whose name I forgot—​

Presiding Judge : It’s in the file. I don’t recall either, but it’s not important.​

Salim Güran : Anyway, Abdulsamet climbed up the pole. The other one was collecting weeds.​

Presiding Judge : Hasan. Hasan.​

Salim Güran : Hasan was collecting weeds. He was picking them. I was walking through the cotton, checking the plants. Then Abdulsamet came down and said, “Salim, call your cousin. I won’t do this repair for less than three and a half thousand.” I said, “Why should I call him? You call.” So he called. They negotiated, and the price went down from five thousand to three thousand. Then my cousin Mehmet Şerif called me and said, “He agreed to do it for three thousand.” I said, “That’s fine, three thousand is reasonable.” He said, “I need a long stick.” I said, “Where am I supposed to get you a long stick from?” He said, “Let’s go to the well where we’re staying—maybe we’ll find something useful there.” So we went there together. When we arrived, they found what they needed and left. I didn’t go with them. My son Miran was there. I took my son Miran and went home.​

Presiding Judge : Around what time was that?​

Salim Güran : When I got home, it was around six o’clock.​

Presiding Judge : So around six.​

Salim Güran : Yes, about six o’clock.​

Presiding Judge : So you were in the field until then?​

Salim Güran : Of course, yes. Then my uncle Hüseyin had come from Mersin. I hadn’t seen him yet. I went home, grabbed a device we had, and put it in the car. My son Miran said, “Dad, I’m coming too.” I said, “All right, come along.” We went to see Uncle Hüseyin. My aunt Fatma had also come. I greeted them respectfully. While I was there, Ramazan Atasoy called me. He said, “Brother, there’s a suspicious vehicle near where you came from.” I told my uncle, “There’s such a situation.” My nephew Osman said, “Uncle, I’ll come too.” I said, “No, don’t come.” I dropped off my son Miran. You can see my son Miran on camera—he’s walking up the path. I drove by the school. As I was passing by the side street, I saw Nevzat Bahtiyar among the trees. I passed by without even greeting him. For the past two and a half, three months, I haven’t sat with this man, eaten with him, drunk coffee with him—nothing. He shouldn’t lie. Since the incident with Arif, neither has he called me nor have I called him. I knew he was upset with Arif because Arif refused to pay him. Arif said, “You’ll pay this money like a donkey,” he said. “How can you not pay?” He insulted him harshly. I said, “Arif, that’s inappropriate. Why would you say that?” Since that day, we haven’t sat together. If we were such close friends, why doesn’t he stop by and sit with me? He passes by every day, and so do I. I don’t even greet him anymore. I know he was offended by Arif—and by us too. About the construction issue: when Arif said that, I told him, “Nevzat, we’re going to build your house anyway. We’ll have Feyzi do the plastering. You’re a plasterer—come and do it. My father will give twenty thousand, I’ll give twenty thousand, and Arif will give forty thousand. That makes eighty thousand.” He agreed, went to look at the house, then called me back and said, “He said one hundred fifty thousand to you, but told me two hundred.” He said, “I won’t do it for less than one hundred ninety.” I said, “Come on, that’s not right. You told my brother Memduh one hundred seventy-five. At least do it for one seventy-five. I’m giving you an extra twenty thousand.” He said, “No, I won’t do it. Give it to whoever offered one seventy-five.” I said, “Then I’m not giving you the twenty thousand either.” I told him that directly.​

Presiding Judge : All right. One moment—it says the session is closed, right? The recording will be fine, yes? Okay.​

Salim Güran : On the day of the incident, I was in the field.​

Presiding Judge : When did you first learn that Narin was missing?​

Salim Güran : When I was with Uncle Hüseyin—around 6:30 or 6:40, I’m not sure, approximately. Ramazan called me. I went there—the two grandsons of our former village head were there. A white Chevrolet was driving around in circles. It’s visible on the police station’s camera. I said, “What’s going on?” They said, “We’re learning to drive to get our license.” Then I went there again. I took my phone and went there.​

Presiding Judge : All right, you went there. When did you find out about Narin?​

Salim Güran : When I got there? We went there—what time was it then? Around six something?​

Presiding Judge : Around six-thirty. All right.​

Salim Güran : Between six and six-thirty, maybe seven.​

Presiding Judge : Yes, around seven.​

Salim Güran : After that, I didn’t stay put. I can’t sit still. I’ve been walking around cornfields since I was a child. I climbed up a pole and took a photo—took a picture of the corn from up there. I called Mehmet Selim Atasoy. He came to me. Then we went around checking the corn again. When we came back near the cooler, I got a phone call. My daughter Gizem called me. She said, “Dad, Narin is missing.”​

Presiding Judge : Gizem?​

Salim Güran : Yes, my daughter Gizem.​

Presiding Judge : All right, I just wanted to confirm.​

Salim Güran : She said, “Dad, Narin is missing.” I said, “How could she be missing? Look around, I’m coming.” Mehmet Selim Atasoy said, “Brother, wait, I’ll come too.” He was there with his two sons—Ramazan and the younger one, whose name I don’t recall. Mehmet Selim Atasoy took a flashlight since it was already evening. We went together to the house. I parked the car there and saw that all the villagers were gathered.​

Presiding Judge : So that’s when you found out.​

Salim Güran : That’s when I found out. When I got the call, I came and saw it was serious. I immediately called Sergeant Şakir before anyone else even made a report.​

Presiding Judge : At 20:18.​

Salim Güran : Yes. I said, “Commander, my niece is missing.”​

Presiding Judge : All right. Now, we learned something new here as the court panel. There’s a voice recording app on your phone—why did you install it?​

Salim Güran : Sometimes I go to meetings and forget the time.​

Presiding Judge : Okay.​

Salim Güran : So I record the time and address to remember them.​

Presiding Judge : Then why did you delete it? You just said you’re forgetful, right?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Presiding Judge : You’re the village head, correct?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Presiding Judge : Let’s talk about this region specifically. I’ve been here five years and learned how things work. In a village like yours, for soldiers, police, and the villagers, you’re the first point of contact, right?​

Salim Güran : Correct.​

Presiding Judge : Then that app would have been useful after Narin went missing. Someone could’ve called and said, “Mr. Headman, I found her here,” and it would’ve been recorded. But you deleted the app on August 22^nd.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t delete that app. I didn’t touch it. They told me—​

Presiding Judge : Look, others may object, but according to the data, on 08/22/2024 at 00:31—half past midnight, the night Narin went missing—you disabled the app.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Presiding Judge : You disabled it around midnight, the same night she disappeared.​

Salim Güran : I don’t understand that app.​

Presiding Judge : Look, Mr. Salim, I told Enes he’s a smart boy. And I’ll tell you—you’re a smart man. You could outsmart half the people here if you wanted.​

Salim Güran : God forbid.​

Presiding Judge : No, let me explain what I mean. You installed that app yourself, right?​

Salim Güran : I told you the name of the person who installed it.​

Presiding Judge : That’s not important. You had it installed, and you understood how to use it to record things. The app would have been most useful after the incident. So why delete it?​

Salim Güran : It’s still there. I didn’t delete it from the screen.​

Presiding Judge : But according to the digital report, the app itself was disabled. Look, I’m reading your call logs right now. At 20:01, “Hello, where are you? I’m by the well. I’m coming now. I can’t hear you. They’re saying Arif’s girl or someone went missing. What happened? I’ll call you back, I’m coming now.” That’s from the app’s log. Then you called the commander.​

Salim Güran : Right, those were around 8 p.m. that day.​

Presiding Judge : And that night, you disabled the app.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t disable it.​

Presiding Judge : But it was disabled. That’s very suspicious.​

Salim Güran : I swear, I didn’t disable that app. Whatever it shows, that’s it.​

Presiding Judge : One moment—the recording froze.​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not.​

Presiding Judge : No, there’s just a system error.​

Presiding Judge : Restarting the recording. Let me clarify: during Salim’s testimony, the SEGBİS system froze, so the recording was restarted. If any technical issues arise, we’ll address them using the secondary camera. All right? Geylani, take note of that. Mr. Salim, I’ll ask again—you didn’t intentionally delete or disable that app, correct?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Presiding Judge : So you don’t know how it got disabled. After the incident, about 15–20 days later, did you ever check if the app still worked?​

Salim Güran : No, I didn’t know. Sometimes the storage was full, or maybe the signal didn’t connect.​

Presiding Judge : All right. Everyone, a bit quieter please.​

At this point, due to overlapping voices from the presiding judge, attendees, a bar association representative, and one of the plaintiff’s lawyers, parts of the audio were unintelligible.​

Presiding Judge : All right, let’s start again from the top. About this app—​

Salim Güran : I want to speak.​

Presiding Judge : Of course.​

Salim Güran : I don’t understand that app. I was sitting in the courtyard of Cahit Kaya, my father-in-law’s brother. His son, Şeyhmuz Kaya, installed it for me. While we were having tea, I mentioned that sometimes the app didn’t record calls. He told me it’s because it doesn’t record when there’s no signal.​

Presiding Judge : But afterward, your phone clearly had signal—you were reachable. If you didn’t disable it intentionally, it should’ve still worked.​

Salim Güran : No.​

Presiding Judge : All right. So you’re saying you didn’t disable it intentionally. But the phones seized from you had deleted call logs and erased WhatsApp history. Why?​

Salim Güran : Because I had talked to prostitutes—escorts. I deleted them.​

Presiding Judge : But you didn’t delete everything. The escort messages are still there.​

Salim Güran : I thought I deleted them.​

Presiding Judge : Maybe you talked to more than one. I don’t know. Deleting that would be understandable. But you didn’t delete those—you deleted the ordinary messages. I’ve seen it in the file.​

Salim Güran : Who knows that?​

Presiding Judge : It’s in the case file. You deleted messages you shouldn’t have, while the incriminating ones remain.​

Salim Güran : That’s all I know.​

Presiding Judge : That’s another suspicious act. Mr. Salim, as I said before, you’re an intelligent man. As a village head, you’re also experienced in handling investigations. Correct? In Diyarbakır, most investigations are conducted through the village head. This missing person case was also managed largely under your direction. I’ll come back to that. Now—you deleted your WhatsApp chats.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Presiding Judge : You say you did it so the escort conversations wouldn’t be exposed.​

Salim Güran : Yes, I deleted a lot.​

Presiding Judge : But the escort conversations remain.​

Salim Güran : I thought I deleted them.​

Presiding Judge : You didn’t. So, who do you think killed Narin?​

Salim Güran : I didn’t see who did it.​

Presiding Judge : When asked before, you seemed to suspect your stepmother. Is that correct?​

Salim Güran : For example.​

Presiding Judge : No, I mean, when you were first asked who you suspected, you said your stepmother and your step-siblings.​

Salim Güran : Let me explain, Your Honor. They brought something—what do they call it?​

Presiding Judge : A sorcerer?​

Salim Güran : Not a sorcerer exactly, there’s another word for it.​

Presiding Judge : A talisman maker? I don’t know what you call it here—what?​

Salim Güran : A “blow healer.” (Üfürükçü)​

Presiding Judge : All right.​

Salim Güran : They brought one. They brought him. He said it’s somewhere around there, around Nevzat’s house.​

Presiding Judge : You didn’t go to the “blow healer” yourself?​

Salim Güran : The healer came—that’s different. Let me explain.​

Presiding Judge : Ah, so that’s a different healer. There’s also one you went to.​

Salim Güran : I’ll explain that too.​

Presiding Judge : Go ahead.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t take him there. The security forces took me. I can even give you their names.​

Presiding Judge : Fine, yes, go ahead, give them.​

Presiding Judge : I will. Then there’s also Nedim Kaya—Gazal’s brother. I said, what should I say? I swear I don’t believe in such things. I said, “Nedim, you deal with it.” He kept taking the man around—around my mother’s house, around the garage. That’s how it went…​

Presiding Judge : But if you don’t believe in such things, why did you tell the gendarmerie you suspected your stepmother because of it? Look—you said you suspected even your stepmother, based on something a healer did whom you don’t believe in.​

Salim Güran : That’s true.​

Presiding Judge : Yet for about 15–20 days, there’s no sign that you suspected Nevzat.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t suspect him. But when the gendarmerie called me, they asked, “Do you have any conflicts with anyone?” I said, “No, we have no issues.” They said, “Even if it’s small, tell us.” I said, “Well, maybe with Nevzat Bahtiyar, a small one.”​

Presiding Judge : So “small.” You’re saying it didn’t seem important?​

Salim Güran : Yes. After what happened with Nevzat in my house, they told me they asked Arif—he said, “No problem, I paid my money.” So I thought there was no issue with Arif either.​

Presiding Judge : All right. Who is Birsen to you?​

Salim Güran : My uncle’s daughter.​

Presiding Judge : Your uncle’s daughter.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Presiding Judge : And Melike is also your uncle’s daughter. Did you tell them to testify that they saw Narin at 17:40?​

Salim Güran : Never. They changed their statements under beating. That’s not true.​

Presiding Judge : Your cousin says otherwise.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t even talk to my cousin. Why would I tell her what to say?​

Presiding Judge : Then why would the gendarmerie beat them just to accuse you?​

Salim Güran : Your Honor, there was something called “trace evidence” in my car.​

Presiding Judge : We’ll get to that. Step by step. So, why would the gendarmerie force them to accuse Salim? Why you?​

Salim Güran : They changed their statements after I was taken into custody.​

Presiding Judge : But why Salim? Why not Arif, Fuat, or Erhan?​

Salim Güran : Ask them, Your Honor.​

Presiding Judge : I will. But I’m asking you too—they said it was Salim.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t say anything.​

Presiding Judge : You didn’t?​

Salim Güran : I didn’t say anything. I didn’t talk.​

Presiding Judge : You didn’t talk. Yet in the gendarmerie’s records, it says you kept redirecting them elsewhere, which was seen as suspicious behavior.​

Salim Güran : Who am I to direct the whole state?​

Presiding Judge : No, not that.​

Salim Güran : They wouldn’t even let me stay in one place—one took me out of the car, another put me in.​

Presiding Judge : No, I’m not saying that. I know what you’ll say. You’re the muhtar, right? I said earlier that investigations are conducted through the muhtar. Don’t say “who am I.” Investigations are done with those who know the area.​

Salim Güran : Who was coming to the muhtar? Who came to the muhtar?​

Presiding Judge : All right.​

Salim Güran : I wasn’t even eating.​

Presiding Judge : Fine. But why did you keep mentioning suspicious things to the gendarmerie—like “there are gypsies,” “a red car,” “a Syrian tent”?​

Salim Güran : I’ll explain that too. They asked how many wells there were. We went around checking the wells. When we reached Hacı Mehmet Emin Kaya’s place, they all suddenly ran off. I asked, “What happened?” No one said anything. The cars sped away. I said, “Take me too.” They said no. Then I saw a foreign transit van up ahead—I raised my hand and said, “God, let me go with them, where are our people going?” I went to the tent area, to where the gypsies were. Who organized it? The muhtar. The last one to know—also the muhtar.​

Presiding Judge : Now wait—so you’re talking about two gypsies.​

Salim Güran : Two gypsies. That first evening the village was crowded. People said, “Two gypsies were seen near the irrigation canal at the village entrance.”​

Presiding Judge : Who told you that?​

Salim Güran : They were saying it among themselves in the crowd.​

Presiding Judge : And you passed that on to the gendarmerie.​

Salim Güran : No, I didn’t. Why would I?​

Presiding Judge : The gendarmerie wrote in their report that they heard it from you. Everyone knew the rumor, but you, as the muhtar, also passed it along. It wasn’t something you saw yourself—just what you heard.​

Salim Güran : Someone said, “Muhtar, we saw two gypsies.”​

Presiding Judge : And you told the gendarmerie.​

Salim Güran : I said, “Maybe those gypsies brought the child to the village?”​

Presiding Judge : So you didn’t see them—you heard it and relayed it. Now, there’s another point: the HTS analysis, which the defense disputes. According to that report, you were near Arif Güran’s house at 15:19, and entered the house at 15:20. You claim you were in the cornfield at that time. Did you ever enter Arif Güran’s house?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Presiding Judge : Did you see Nevzat on the day of the incident?​

Salim Güran : Around 6:40 p.m., while walking down the street, I saw him among the trees, near the door of his house. I passed by without greeting him.​

Presiding Judge : At 6:40? Wasn’t he supposed to be going to his sister-in-law’s to get cheese at that time?​

Salim Güran : When I was going to Uncle Hüseyin’s, it’s visible on the school camera. He was there at that time.​

Presiding Judge : So you saw him, it caught your attention, but you didn’t greet him.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t even greet him.​

Presiding Judge : Have you ever entered Arif’s house?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Presiding Judge : But the cell tower data suggests you went as far as the empty room across from the kitchen.​

Salim Güran : Our house is only about 30–35 meters away. If my signal reaches there, then there are three other phones in my house—check their data too.​

Presiding Judge : Why check theirs?​

Salim Güran : Then they’d show the same, because I was home.​

Presiding Judge : But you said you weren’t home.​

Salim Güran : No, I left for the field around ten to four.​

Presiding Judge : You went to the field.​

Salim Güran : Check Bahtiyar’s data too—he’d show up in the bathroom, excuse me.​

Presiding Judge : Who is Dilek?​

Salim Güran : My daughter.​

Presiding Judge : Dilek.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Presiding Judge : What’s her legal name?​

Salim Güran : Rezan.​

Presiding Judge : Rezan. At 15:39, you had a WhatsApp conversation with Rezan.​

Salim Güran : That’s my daughter, she called.​

Presiding Judge : You don’t remember. At 15:45, Rezan called again—this is from the deleted WhatsApp data. Enes’s phone also connects to your house at 15:57.​

Salim Güran : Our houses are close, Your Honor.​

Presiding Judge : Did Enes come to your house before you left?​

Salim Güran : He didn’t come while I was home.​

Presiding Judge : Have you ever witnessed Enes having a relationship with one of your daughters?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not. Never saw or heard such a thing.​

Presiding Judge : Do you have any relationship with Yüksel?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not. I would never disgrace or dishonor my brother’s family. I am Salim Güran. Your Honor, she’s a forty-five-year-old woman—my brother’s honor is my own. Am I such a low, immoral man to bring shame on my brother’s name?​

Presiding Judge : Then who killed Narin?​

Salim Güran : Your Honor, are you asking me who killed Narin?​

Presiding Judge : I’m asking if you have a guess.​

Salim Güran : Narin—clearly, Nevzat Bahtiyar took her and buried her. All right? Nevzat Bahtiyar, did you kill Narin? Who killed her? Speak up like a man.​

Presiding Judge : Look at me while you speak.​

Salim Güran : Think of the afterlife too. You’ll burn in the fires of hell.​

Presiding Judge : Look at me.​

Salim Güran : Yes. Don’t lose your eternal life for this short worldly one. Speak up like a man.​

Presiding Judge : He said, “I didn’t kill her, I just took the body and hid it.”​

Salim Güran : It’s all a game—he’s lying about everything.​

Presiding Judge : From your point of view, do you think Nevzat is even capable of planning all this?​

Salim Güran : No, but let me tell you, Your Honor, I was taken into custody.​

Presiding Judge : Yes.​

Salim Güran : The man prepared himself watching TV.​

Presiding Judge : But you’re saying he’s not capable, right?​

Salim Güran : What?​

Presiding Judge : I asked if Nevzat is capable of planning all this—you said no.​

Salim Güran : But the TV told him everything. He arranged everything in front of the television.​

Presiding Judge : So, if he could arrange everything, why would a man who’s supposedly framing you also accuse Yüksel and drag her into it?​

Salim Güran : He’s slandering us, Your Honor.​

Presiding Judge : Why? If his goal was to save himself, wouldn’t it make more sense to accuse only you?​

Salim Güran : How could I kill Narin, an eight-year-old angel—she was like my own daughter, Your Honor?​

Presiding Judge : According to the allegation, because she saw the affair.​

Salim Güran : He’s lying—may God punish him. There’s no such thing.​

Presiding Judge : No such thing. Then why did you delete your WhatsApp history and phone data?​

Salim Güran : Your Honor, like I said, I deleted them. At the end—I mentioned that the security forces took me to the healer.​

Presiding Judge : All right.​

Salim Güran : While I was there, 380 Kalashnikov bullets were found in my brother Arif’s barn. Everyone was calling nonstop over WhatsApp. That’s why I deleted it too.​

Presiding Judge : That’s why you deleted it. Okay. And the Mehmetoğulları—what are they to you?​

Salim Güran : Efendi Mehmetoğlu.​

Presiding Judge : There’s also Taner Mehmetoğlu. In the WhatsApp group, he writes, “Give the guns to the women.” He says, “There’s going to be a search—hide the guns and bullets with the women.”​

Salim Güran : I’m not connected to that group.​

Presiding Judge : You didn’t know about it?​

Salim Güran : No, I had no idea. This is the first I’m hearing of it, Your Honor.​

Presiding Judge : You didn’t know about a group called “Narin WhatsApp Group”?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not.​

Presiding Judge : Absolutely not. All right. So, you deny the cell tower data too?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely.​

Presiding Judge : Were you aware of the women’s fight?​

Salim Güran : No. I was in custody during whatever they said.​

Presiding Judge : So you don’t know what they said?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Presiding Judge : Because when they were arguing, Erhan—or was it Fuat?—yes, Erhan—was covering their mouths, telling them to be quiet, separating them.​

Salim Güran : I have no knowledge, Your Honor. Ask them.​

Presiding Judge : We’ll ask them too. But let’s ask you as well. Did you ever direct witnesses? Tell them to “speak the truth,” or coach them to protect yourself?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not. I never said anything like that to anyone. Never told anyone what to say.​

Presiding Judge : We asked about your WhatsApp messages, your phone, why you didn’t bring your phone. On the day of the incident, there’s a voice call with Nevzat.​

Salim Güran : I never called him. Never.​

Presiding Judge : There’s an incoming call at 17:46—41 seconds.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t call him on WhatsApp, Your Honor. He didn’t call me either. Never.​

Presiding Judge : You have the right to deny or remain silent, but—​

Salim Güran : No, I’ll answer, Your Honor.​

Presiding Judge : This is a serious allegation in the file. The WhatsApp data shows a call at 17:46 on the day of the incident.​

Salim Güran : Did Nevzat Bahtiyar call me, or did I call him?​

Presiding Judge : He called you.​

Salim Güran : That’s absolutely false. No such thing.​

Presiding Judge : What about Vecdi or Vedat?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Presiding Judge : What do you say about that?​

Salim Güran : He’s been calling me since then—asking, “Did you find her or not?” He kept calling.​

Presiding Judge : After that, he had conversations with Nevzat. Are you saying that wasn’t you?​

Salim Güran : I didn’t talk to him.​

Presiding Judge : Did you ever give instructions to Nevzat through him?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not. No such thing.​

Presiding Judge : The child is missing. The entire Tavşantepe is searching for Narin. Everyone is looking. Yet during that short window of time—22:47—you supposedly went to the site where the body was found.​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not. I didn’t go.​

Presiding Judge : You didn’t go. Yet it’s claimed that you left the area at 22:55.​

Salim Güran : We were searching everywhere like dogs—two or three times over.​

Presiding Judge : But there are witnesses.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t leave the village that night.​

Presiding Judge : There’s also evidence that a car went there. We’ve determined that Nevzat’s red car went to that spot. There’s footage showing a red car. The camera shows a vehicle going there at night, matching your cell tower data—showing you at the site at 22:47. According to the prosecution, someone went there that night. We don’t know what car it was—maybe a Renault, maybe a red one. Later, about a month afterward, data entered the file placing you there. So, are you saying the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office conspired against you? Someone drove there, and they decided to pin it on you?​

Salim Güran : Your Honor, I swear, I never went there.​

Presiding Judge : Then why would the Diyarbakır Prosecutor’s Office make such a claim against you? What did you do to them for them to frame you?​

Salim Güran : Your Honor, they insulted me, humiliated me—everything.​

Presiding Judge : But look, Mr. Salim, they didn’t accuse Yüksel of this. They didn’t accuse Enes. They didn’t accuse Erhan. They’re saying Salim went there.​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not.​

Presiding Judge : Are you a traitor to your country?​

Salim Güran : Never.​

Presiding Judge : Then if you’re not, from your point of view, why would the Diyarbakır Chief Prosecutor’s Office fabricate such an accusation against you?​

Salim Güran : I don’t know. You’d have to ask them.​

Presiding Judge : They say they’re not fabricating anything.​

Salim Güran : Then where did that car come from, if the camera caught it?​

Presiding Judge : It was nighttime when the camera caught it. The car isn’t clearly visible. It’s just a small section where a vehicle enters. It’s unknown—it was dark. Because it was nighttime.​

Salim Güran : I have three fields in the village. One of them is close to the creek—about 300 to 400 meters away.​

Presiding Judge : Now, there’s DNA found in your car—right under the driver’s seat, exactly where you sit.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Presiding Judge : What do you say about that?​

Salim Güran : That car isn’t mine. Just as my aunt Yüksel said earlier—it belongs to my nephew. We brought it with İmran to the house. He said, “Uncle, Devran had an accident.” It’s a ’94 model Broadway—God spared him, he almost died inside. He said, “You use it, and when I sell it, you can give it back.” I agreed. I drove it for about six or seven days. Then in Çarıklı, near the driller’s shop, İmran Berat and Kurtuluş came to me. They said, “Uncle, we’ve sold the car.” Ali came and took it. Within two days, I was left without a car. I was going back and forth on Mehmet Selim Atasoy’s motorcycle or by minibus. Later my son Devran said, “Dad, Uncle Fuat went to Van with the tractor, he’s working under the harvester. Let’s use his car and go to the field.” I said, “Does it even run?” He said, “We’ll get it running.” An electrician came and started it. I went to Diyarbakır, it stalled at the office and wouldn’t start again. I found a man who helped me jump-start it. Then we took it to the electrician in Çarıklı—he said the battery was dead. We charged it. Even while the car was at the mechanic’s, we called from across in Gönen. They said, “When the battery’s ready, bring it back to us. Maybe we’ll put it on Fuat’s car and use it ourselves.” The door was broken, the window too. The kids rode in it every day—my kids, Arif’s kids, Fuat’s kids—all of them.​

Presiding Judge : All right, but even if they all rode in it—​

Salim Güran : That very day, my four daughters were with me—without headscarves. We went to the Bağlar Health Center, downtown.​

Presiding Judge : All right, but the DNA was found under the driver’s seat. Now, according to the allegation—let me restate it—Nevzat said there was foam coming from Narin’s mouth. Could it be that when you touched her, some of that foam got on your hand, and when you entered the car, you wiped it onto the seat?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not.​

Presiding Judge : Or maybe from the blanket—did you touch a wet part of it? I asked if it was wet; he said no. Could you have wiped saliva from a damp part of the blanket onto the seat?​

Salim Güran : Your Honor, there’s no such thing. And where did this blanket story come from anyway? I bought TRY 200 worth of fuel at the gas station.​

Presiding Judge : Yes, TRY 200.​

Salim Güran : TRY 200. My whole family was in the car—my wife in front, my kids in the back. Someone said I bought three packs of wet wipes there.​

Presiding Judge : All right.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t even get out of the car. Someone else claimed they saw Narin’s body wrapped in a blanket. They said all sorts of things—none of them were true.​

Presiding Judge : When you say “not true,” what do you mean?​

Salim Güran : I mean there’s no such thing. None of it.​

Presiding Judge : All right, social media… okay, okay, fine. Yes, now I remember what part of the indictment this refers to. I understand now, thank you. So, to summarize before giving the floor to the judges and the prosecutor: according to the indictment, there’s a DNA trace in your car. According to the HTS data, you entered Arif’s house. And at the crime scene, based on the report, between 22:47 and 22:55, you were there for about eight minutes.​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not. No such thing.​

Presiding Judge : So none of this is true?​

Salim Güran : Not true.​

Presiding Judge : You didn’t influence any witnesses?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Presiding Judge : You didn’t deliberately mislead the authorities to keep the evidence from being found? You didn’t direct them to, say, the red car instead?​

Salim Güran : No, absolutely not.​

Presiding Judge : And you didn’t deliberately disable the voice recording app on your phone?​

Salim Güran : No, absolutely not.​

Presiding Judge : Then you deleted the WhatsApp data, but the escort messages accidentally remained. All right. Do you have any questions?​

Associate Judge : Mr. Salim, it’s established that there was a voice recording function on your phone and that recordings from it were included in the case file. You’ve already admitted to using such an app and recording conversations due to your forgetfulness. Can you hear me now?​

Presiding Judge : No, no—just record.​

Associate Judge : This microphone records, all right. I’ll speak more quietly then. You said you used the voice recording program on your phone to help yourself because you sometimes forget things.​

Salim Güran : Yes, I forget sometimes.​

Associate Judge : The use of this program is confirmed, and the recordings are in the case file. I have two questions about these recordings. First, in your conversation with Ramazan Atasoy, you say there was a suspicious vehicle near the field. You said he informed and warned you about it, and that’s why you went to the field. However, when we listen to the recording, it sounds more like talk about a sprinkler—or something being stuck in a sprinkler up on the hill. So your current statement doesn’t match the content of the audio recording. Can you explain this?​

Salim Güran : Look, Your Honor, as I said, I took a device from home. I took it when I went to Uncle Hüseyin’s place. When the phone rang, I thought it was the TEDAŞ (electric company) team calling. I went there—it wasn’t them. It was the muhtar’s two grandsons. Then I went to Ramazan Atasoy. We have a device we use two or three times a week. Otherwise, the farmers can’t manage the electricity.​

Associate Judge : So the conversation you mentioned with Ramazan—was it about this device, or about the suspicious vehicle?​

Salim Güran : It was about the suspicious vehicle—he said there was a suspicious vehicle.​

Associate Judge : All right. My second question—according to the recordings in the file, you mention several different times for when Narin went missing: “since sixteen,” “since sixteen thirty,” “since fifteen,” “since seventeen or eighteen,” “since nineteen.” In calls starting from 20:01, the missing time changes each time—by nearly half an hour. Why is that?​

Salim Güran : Just like I said earlier, Your Honor, it was crowded—one person said they saw her at five thirty, another said five forty, another said six. So I spoke based on that.​

Associate Judge : Yes, the statements mention five forty. There’s Maide Kaya’s statement, İsa Kaya’s too—all after five thirty. Where did “four o’clock” come from then? Who told you that?​

Salim Güran : Maybe I said it, but I don’t remember. I don’t know.​

Presiding Judge : What time did Nevzat call you? At fifteen—15:08?​

Salim Güran : He called me about the water issue.​

Presiding Judge : So that’s true.​

Salim Güran : Yes, he called about the water. He said, “My water’s not coming.” But if one person’s water doesn’t come, usually fifteen or twenty people in the village, men and women, would all call me. Strangely, it was only him. The water comes to the whole village from one main pipe at the tower. Why is everyone else’s water running, but not his?​

Presiding Judge : Why didn’t you suspect something then, but you do now?​

Salim Güran : No, I mean—at the time, I didn’t think much of it.​

Presiding Judge : But you suspect everything else—you even suspected the healer.​

Salim Güran : He could check whether his water was coming or not.​

Presiding Judge : Mr. Salim, you—who suspected the healer—why didn’t you suspect Nevzat at the time and ask for him to be investigated?​

Salim Güran : He didn’t call me again after that.​

Presiding Judge : You’re not answering my question. You, who suspected your stepmother based on something from a healer you didn’t even believe in—why didn’t you suspect Nevzat over this water issue?​

Salim Güran : I didn’t investigate that.​

Presiding Judge : So you didn’t suspect him. Then Vedat kept calling too, right?​

Salim Güran : Yes, Vedat—or Vejdi—kept calling, asking, “Did you find her or not?”​

Presiding Judge : And despite all this, you never suspected Nevzat?​

Salim Güran : I told the security forces. I said there had been some trouble between me and Nevzat about the car.​

Presiding Judge : The only detail in the file connecting you to Nevzat is the red car. You mentioned a red car somewhere.​

Salim Güran : I never said anything about two gypsies or a red car. Did I even talk to such a person?​

Presiding Judge : It’s not about talking—you told the gendarmerie that two gypsies passed by in a red car. The only red car we have in common is Nevzat’s. You have no other claims about him.​

Salim Güran : I don’t know that red car. I never said that.​

Presiding Judge : So someone else said it.​

Salim Güran : It was something people were saying about the gypsies.​

Presiding Judge : They were saying it, I see. Any questions, Your Honor? Madam Judge? Mr. Prosecutor, do you have any questions? Go ahead.​

Trial Prosecutor ​

Trial Prosecutor : Salim Güran, the issue of the red car that the presiding judge mentioned earlier also appears in the Kurdish-translated transcripts of your deleted recordings. Not once, not twice—several times. You even have conversations with the officers. You talk about an old red car, correct? Do you deny having such a conversation?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely. I don’t remember talking about two gypsies or a red car.​

Trial Prosecutor : All right, let’s see. At 15:08, when Nevzat called you about the water issue, where were you?​

Salim Güran : I was at home.​

Trial Prosecutor : At home. How long did you speak?​

Salim Güran : He said, “The water’s not coming.” I said, “All right then.”​

Trial Prosecutor : You mentioned fixing the issue, reaching someone about it. Did you make any official call regarding the water outage?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Trial Prosecutor : So you stayed home until around 16:00.​

Salim Güran : I ate something and rested for a bit.​

Trial Prosecutor : So you didn’t call anyone to fix the water?​

Salim Güran : No, no one called me, and I didn’t call anyone.​

Trial Prosecutor : But Nevzat called you about the water.​

Salim Güran : Yes, he did. No one else did.​

Trial Prosecutor : All right. After that, did you take any action to fix the water or report it?​

Salim Güran : No, I didn’t.​

Trial Prosecutor : Okay. You said someone else installed that recording app on your phone, correct? So you claim you didn’t delete it yourself.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Trial Prosecutor : Did the person who installed it delete it?​

Salim Güran : No. I never asked anyone to do that.​

Trial Prosecutor : In the translated transcripts from the recordings, you mention someone named “Badin,” or Bahattin.​

Salim Güran : Yes. He’s a phone repairman. Yes, yes.​

Trial Prosecutor : You thanked him quite a lot for fixing a button.​

Salim Güran : Ramazan’s phone had broken. Yes, that’s right. Badin Karatay—his shop’s in Karamuz. He said he’d repair it for TRY 900. It was at his shop.​

Trial Prosecutor : You said things like “You’re a lion, a hero, well done for fixing it,” didn’t you?​

Salim Güran : Because they had taken it to three or four other places, and no one could fix it—but he did.​

Trial Prosecutor : Could he have deleted the app for you?​

Salim Güran : It wasn’t even my phone.​

Presiding Judge : Could that Badin have helped you with that?​

Salim Güran : No, definitely not. It was Ramazan’s phone, and maybe it still wasn’t fixed then. I don’t know.​

Trial Prosecutor : Now I’ll refer to the cell tower data. Around 22:00, on the evening Narin went missing, there’s a signal from near Dicle University. There’s supposedly a tea garden there. Do you know whose that is? Does someone from the Güran family run a tea garden there? There’s one, right?​

Salim Güran : Yes, my uncle Güran has one there.​

Trial Prosecutor : The signal came from that area. You don’t have to admit anything—I’m just asking. Devran Güran and Muhammed Kaya came from the Derik district—Mardin Derik. When they arrived, their phones pinged the same tower.​

Salim Güran : That’s true—they went there to hand out cards.​

Trial Prosecutor : The timing overlaps with yours. That’s my point. You claim you didn’t meet anyone, but the tower data shows otherwise.​

Salim Güran : No.​

Trial Prosecutor : The next morning—Muhammed Kaya is your nephew, right? You’re his uncle.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Trial Prosecutor : Did you see Muhammed Kaya that evening? They came from Derik, right?​

Salim Güran : Yes, I saw Muhammed.​

Trial Prosecutor : Then how can you deny my Dicle University point? Anyway—did you see Muhammed Kaya the night Narin went missing?​

Salim Güran : It was crowded—all my nephews were there. He was probably there too.​

Trial Prosecutor : Do you remember? Do you recall? Hm? Do you?​

Salim Güran : Most likely he was there. I don’t really know—there were hundreds of people.​

Trial Prosecutor : So, along with the gypsy and Syrian claims, the next morning Muhammed Kaya supposedly found a slipper near the Syrian tents.​

Salim Güran : That’s true.​

Trial Prosecutor : True.​

Presiding Judge : All right, all right. Please, no interruptions. Let’s maintain order.​

Trial Prosecutor : You can respond after I finish. I just ask for courtesy.​

Presiding Judge : Right—no interruptions. Thank you, counsel. Please proceed, Mr. Prosecutor.​

Trial Prosecutor : You’re the one who mentioned the Syrians and the gypsies in your recordings. The next day, there’s a claim that a slipper was found near the tent—but the gendarmerie didn’t find one. Muhammed Kaya kept the slipper in his car for an hour and a half, claiming the Syrians had dropped it. Did you arrange that?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not. I have nothing to do with it.​

Trial Prosecutor : According to the tower data—again, you don’t have to answer; I’m stating the claim—you gave off a signal at 22:44 from the site where Narin’s body was found. When the gendarmerie and AFAD arrived and things got chaotic, the claim is that you went there and, after Nevzat said “I didn’t pile up brush, I just put one stone,” you added two more stones and branches on top. Is that true?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not. Look, Mr. Prosecutor—ma’am—that stream isn’t a pond. It’s a long creek, kilometers in length. Is it a lake? A small pond? The area was searched eight times and no body was found. He hid it that well. Why would I be the one to find it?​

Presiding Judge : So you didn’t go to the creek at all, right? All right.​

Trial Prosecutor : Earlier, the presiding judge mentioned the DNA in your car—which you denied. But according to the report, the DNA found in your car matches the DNA from Narin’s clothing. Do you understand the weight of that statement?​

Salim Güran : That day, Narin didn’t ride in that car.​

Trial Prosecutor : Do you understand what that means? It’s not someone else’s hair—it’s DNA taken from Narin’s clothes on the day of the incident. A biological trace, not hair.​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not. That day Narin didn’t get into the car, because the car was with me.​

Presiding Judge : The prosecution isn’t claiming she rode in the car. The claim is that when foam came from her mouth, it got on your hand, and when you entered the car, you wiped it on the seat. Right, Mr. Prosecutor? There’s no claim that Narin was in the car—only that traces transferred from your hand to the car seat.​

Salim Güran : There’s no such thing.​

Trial Prosecutor : What I mean is, this isn’t about her randomly getting into the car that day — this DNA is a trace found on Narin’s clothes, formed on the day of the incident.​

Presiding Judge : It’s not about whether she got in the car or not.​

Salim Güran : After I left that car there, I didn’t get into it again.​

Presiding Judge : All right, I’m just stating the allegation.​

Salim Güran : My brother Fuat drove the car after he came back from work. Fine. I got into my nephews’ or my brother Kurtuluş’s car instead.​

Trial Prosecutor : When did you leave your uncle Hacı Hüseyin, who had come from Mersin?​

Salim Güran : Around 06:35–06:40.​

Trial Prosecutor : Around 06:35–06:40. And at what time did you supposedly take Mehmet Selim Atasoy’s daughters somewhere?​

Salim Güran : I’m mixing up the 20^th and 21^st of the month.​

Trial Prosecutor : So you actually took them a day earlier, correct?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Trial Prosecutor : But your earlier statement said otherwise.​

Salim Güran : That was due to stress, I guess.​

Trial Prosecutor : Mehmet Selim Atasoy called you, saying there was a suspicious vehicle. You were at your uncle Hacı Hüseyin’s house, correct?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Trial Prosecutor : Did you leave immediately?​

Salim Güran : I was sitting with my uncle.​

Trial Prosecutor : But you said earlier you left in a hurry.​

Salim Güran : I greeted them politely and left.​

Trial Prosecutor : So you left right away?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Trial Prosecutor : The moment he called?​

Salim Güran : The moment he called—within a minute or two, I left.​

Trial Prosecutor : Mehmet Selim Atasoy called you at 18:27. You appear on the school camera at 18:57. That’s a 30-minute gap.​

Salim Güran : It wasn’t Mehmet Selim, it was Ramazan Atasoy who called.​

Trial Prosecutor : It’s registered under Mehmet Selim’s name, ending in 1521. Right? Yes. Officially under his name, but it’s Ramazan calling. At 18:27 he calls you. You appear on camera at 18:57. From Hacı Hüseyin’s place to there.​

Salim Güran : I left straight from my uncle’s house.​

Trial Prosecutor : I see, but that’s still 30 minutes, not 2 minutes. You said you dropped Miran off right before that—there’s a 30-minute gap.​

Salim Güran : I left as soon as he called, that’s all I know.​

Trial Prosecutor : Do you understand my question?​

Salim Güran : Miran went up the path, and I went toward the field.​

Trial Prosecutor : All right, but there’s a 30-minute gap. So you didn’t leave immediately.​

Salim Güran : I really don’t know.​

Trial Prosecutor : All right, Mr. President, thank you.​

Diyarbakır Bar Association ​

Law. Aydın Özdemir ​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Mr. Salim, your son is Devran Güran, correct?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Did you ever tell Devran to locate all the cameras in or around the village?​

Salim Güran : I told everyone — identify every camera there is.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Why did you take that upon yourself? Did you have an order from the gendarmerie?​

Salim Güran : I identified them all myself. I showed them to JASAT and intelligence. I pointed them out one by one — all the cameras, the roads. I got out of the car and checked. One of them — my brother now…​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Did you hand over the location data to the gendarmerie? Yakup Tunç — did he send you coordinates through Devran? Did Devran send you the camera locations?​

Salim Güran : He sent one.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Did you deliver it to the gendarmerie?​

Salim Güran : He sent it to the gendarmerie.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : But he sent it to you first, didn’t he?​

Salim Güran : But he also sent it to the gendarmerie.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Did he send it to you?​

Salim Güran : No. I told him to send it directly to the gendarmerie.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : So you never received the file yourself.​

Salim Güran : As far as I know, no. I told him, “Send it to the gendarmerie, why are you sending it to me?”​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : All right. Another question. Based on the contents of your phone’s data image, there’s a conversation where you say: “They saw her last at around three, three-thirty, maybe fourteen-thirty or fifteen-thirty. Around three-thirty, four.” In that conversation, you’re giving a time frame for when Narin went missing — and that call took place at exactly 20:46. So how did you know Narin had gone missing around three-thirty or four?​

Salim Güran : I don’t know. I don’t remember.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : You don’t remember.​

Salim Güran : The gendarmerie arrived early. They came and asked about the cameras. I said there’s one at the school.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : But searches began around seven o’clock.​

Salim Güran : Sabri Kaçan came. They opened the school camera footage.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Yet in that call, you said she went missing at three-thirty or four. How did you know that?​

Salim Güran : I don’t know. I don’t remember saying that.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : According to all the reports, searches in the village didn’t start until 18:30–19:00.​

Salim Güran : Maybe it was just talk — what people were saying.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Who told you that the child went missing at three-thirty or four?​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : You don’t remember. Could someone have told you?​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Then how did you hear that the gypsies might have kidnapped her? Who told you that?​

Salim Güran : I just told the presiding judge earlier — I was the last one to go there.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : All right, but in your conversations, you give very specific details about the gypsies and the slippers. Who told you that? How did you know?​

Salim Güran : My family and the villagers went there.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Can you name anyone from the village who told you this information about the gypsies?​

Salim Güran : I personally went there — I went to where the security forces were, to the gypsies’ area.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Let me repeat. Did one of your relatives tell you that the gypsies might have kidnapped Narin? Where did you learn that?​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : You don’t remember. Did you give the gendarmerie any such information?​

Salim Güran : The gendarmerie went there before me.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : There’s no report of that in the file.​

Salim Güran : There was a rumor about two gypsies — if I said that, I don’t know. I didn’t say anything else.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : All right. After Narin went missing — on the first day — did Nevzat ever call you?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Not once? You didn’t call each other? Did you search together?​

Salim Güran : I didn’t notice him that evening, but the next day the villagers said, “Come, we’re opening the doors — everyone should help. We’re family.”​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Did you search together with Nevzat?​

Salim Güran : He joined.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : He joined.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Did you talk to him during that time?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : You never spoke with Nevzat?​

Salim Güran : We didn’t talk.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : But in his statement, he said, “We were friends for thirty years, very close.” Let me finish my question. Your wife also said, “They were like brothers.” And Arif, the victim’s father, said, “They were like brothers; they used to go to restaurants together.”​

Salim Güran : I only took him out for meat twice — we ate together those two times.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : That’s not what Arif said. What I’m asking is — given how close you supposedly were, didn’t it seem strange that he didn’t search with you or contact you afterward?​

Salim Güran : It was crowded that night. Maybe he joined the searches during the day. He went into houses himself.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : He never came to offer you any support or solidarity?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : So he didn’t.​

Salim Güran : No.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : There are some WhatsApp records that were recovered — call history. They’re synchronized with the time of the incident, around when the act likely occurred. You had calls with Mehmet Güran, Mehmet Şerif Güran, and Nevzat Bahtiyar shortly afterward.​

Salim Güran : I already mentioned Mehmet Güran earlier. We were talking about the field. Nevzat Bahtiyar called me about the water issue.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Why did you speak with Mehmet Şerif Güran?​

Salim Güran : It was about the field and the school. The electricians had come — two of them.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Between 16:43 and 17:59 — a little over an hour.​

Salim Güran : That’s right.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Exactly five calls, totaling 353 seconds.​

Salim Güran : Correct. I said earlier — we spoke several times. He called me.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Were you at the field during those calls? The same field you mentioned?​

Salim Güran : Yes, during the calls with Mehmet Şerif, I was at the field.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : You were at the field.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : The electricians came, and you went with them.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : But they called you around 11 a.m. How do you explain this contradiction?​

Salim Güran : They didn’t call me. I didn’t know they were coming. They just showed up. I saw them and said, “Oh, what’s going on?” They said, “Your cousin Mehmet Şerif.” I said, “Yes, the transformer — it’s faulty.”​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : But this was in the afternoon, not morning.​

Salim Güran : Yes, yes.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : So you didn’t meet with the electricians or go to the field in the morning?​

Salim Güran : No. I don’t know. I don’t remember.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : The electricians called you around 11, and at that time, you were in the village, not at the field.​

Salim Güran : They didn’t call me when they came. They came without calling. They weren’t there for me.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : In your statement to the gendarmerie, you said, “When bullets were found in Arif’s barn, I deleted my WhatsApp records for that reason.”​

Salim Güran : Call records.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Right — you said you deleted the WhatsApp call records for that reason. But now you’re saying you deleted them because you spoke with sex workers. Which one is true?​

Salim Güran : Both are true.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Both are true. All right. That day, you went into the city center to shop. After shopping, you returned home with your family, correct?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Did you rest afterward? Did you eat?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : You ate, and then rested as well?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Then why didn’t you mention any of this in your previous statements?​

Salim Güran : I already said — we hadn’t eaten properly for 6–7 days. They’d bring me food, set it in front of me, and take me away again before I could eat. They were dragging me around like a dog.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : But you repeated this same statement at the prosecution and in the magistrate’s court.​

Salim Güran : Yes — let me explain. They brought me here early in the morning, around 1.5 hours before…​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : You had a private defense attorney present. Their signature is there.​

Salim Güran : He came late. I was kept in that cell that smelled of urine for about an hour and a half — standing for 6–7 hours straight.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : But your statement was recorded after your attorney arrived.​

Salim Güran : He came later. He wasn’t there at first.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : All right. One more question before I finish. You said you used to talk to sex workers.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Weren’t you afraid your wife might find out? Was your phone at home? Would your wife or children look at it?​

Salim Güran : I never talk on the phone at home.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : You don’t. Doesn’t your wife check your phone?​

Salim Güran : I set a password.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : A password. Does your wife ever make calls from your phone?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Never?​

Salim Güran : Only to call Hediye or her sister. And my kids use it for payphone numbers.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Around what time does she usually call?​

Salim Güran : Whenever she needs something — I wouldn’t know.​

Law. Aydın Özdemir : Thank you.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım ​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : Mr. Salim, how many times did you change your clothes on the day Narin went missing?​

Salim Güran : Clothes?​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : Yes.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t change.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : But earlier you said you came home around two-thirty and changed.​

Salim Güran : No, I didn’t change clothes.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : Just now you said—​

Salim Güran : No.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : Right, sorry. In your statement to the prosecutor, you said you came home around two-thirty and changed.​

Salim Güran : No.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : Then later you said you went to the field and changed again when you came back.​

Salim Güran : No, I didn’t change my clothes.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : All right. Next question. There was supposed to be a wedding — invitations were being distributed. You had some task related to that, right? At whose house did you organize it, and with whom?​

Salim Güran : With my brother Erhan and Arif. Arif called me and said, “Come, we’ll hand out the cards.”​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : At whose house?​

Salim Güran : At Erhan’s house.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : All right.​

Salim Güran : My stepmother was there too, and her family. No one else — it wasn’t crowded.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : I see. But in a previous statement, Arif said it was at Hüseyin’s house and that you weren’t there.​

Salim Güran : It was at Erhan’s house.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : All right. Was there ever a drowning incident in the Eğertutmaz stream or the DSİ canal before — any child who drowned?​

Salim Güran : I haven’t heard of any. I don’t know.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : Then why did you direct the gendarmerie straight to the DSİ canal?​

Salim Güran : The dogs went that way.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : Why not the Eğertutmaz stream?​

Salim Güran : The dogs went behind our house into that area. We spent three or four days around the canal. We called the authorities, had the water cut off. Before that, we entered the water ourselves to search.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : I understand.​

Salim Güran : We took the dog there.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : You said you called Ramazan Atasoy about a device at the field. But Ramazan said you didn’t call him about any device. You were referring to an illegal electricity connection device, but he said no such conversation took place.​

Salim Güran : He told me there was a suspicious vehicle.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : A suspicious vehicle?​

Salim Güran : I said maybe it’s the TEDAŞ team, and he said maybe too. I went there — it wasn’t TEDAŞ.​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : But when asked, he said there was no talk about any illegal connection or device.​

Salim Güran : How would I say that on the phone — that there’s an illegal setup?​

Law. Derya Yıldırım : He said you mentioned a device, but that it wasn’t related to that — and that there was no such device in the field.​

Salim Güran : I went to Uncle Hüseyin’s place and then went further up.​

Law. Nahit Eren ​

Law. Nahit Eren : I’d like to clarify something related to what my colleague — and the judge — asked earlier. The judge mentioned “sprinklers” in your recordings with Ramazan, but according to the expert report, that’s incorrect. The conversation is in Kurdish, and I’ll refer to the official translation. At 16:28.​

spoken in Kurdish​

Presiding Judge : Could you translate it into Turkish as well?​

Law. Nahit Eren : The translation already exists.​

Presiding Judge : Please read the Turkish aloud as well — some people here don’t understand.​

Law. Nahit Eren : All right, I’ll read from the file now. “Something of yours fell over there,” it says. “Between the stones at the last bend.” That’s what it says. Ramazan says, “Yes?” Then you say, “Do you know what this is about? Some people reported there’s a body there.” Remember? “No? Maybe you saw it on TV — there was a report like that.” That’s the conversation. “Something of yours fell there — near the border, near the stones.” In Kurdish: [spoken in Kurdish]. Ramazan replies, “All right, I’ll go get it,” according to the translation. Most people here speak Kurdish — I can even play it. I just want to note that this was mistranslated as “sprinkler.” It wasn’t a sprinkler — the conversation was in Turkish.​

Salim Güran and attorney Law. Nahit Eren exchanged a few sentences in Kurdish.​

Law. Nahit Eren : There’s no mention of a sprinkler here. It says, “Something of yours fell there — near the stones by the bend.” So I’m rephrasing the question according to the official report in the file. And since Ramazan also denied it — as you did in your earlier defenses — and as the prosecutors later asked him, did you take any device related to illegal electricity from that place after this conversation? He says, “No, I had no such conversation, nothing about a device.” So I’m asking you now — what did you mean by “Go take the thing that’s yours that fell there”?​

Salim Güran : We usually hide that illegal electricity device near the stones under the grass in that area. It might be that — nothing else. What else would I tell Ramazan?​

Law. Nahit Eren : So this conversation had nothing to do with Narin. Now that we’ve clarified that, let me continue. When we look at all your statements and the allegations in the file, we reach a clear conclusion. I’m basing this on the evidence. In all your defenses, you created a version of events in which, after returning from Çarıklı at 02:33 — or 02:52 according to the cell tower records — you appear to be outside the area covered by your home’s cell tower until 04:00. Why? Why did you say you went to Hüseyin’s house at 02:30? You said, “I came home, dropped off the kids, then went to Hüseyin’s.” I’m asking — why? Why did you go there?​

Salim Güran : I thought I went there around 02:30 or 02:40.​

Law. Nahit Eren : And the reason for that?​

Salim Güran : We were in shock, exhausted.​

Law. Nahit Eren : That’s exactly what I’m asking.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Nahit Eren : This statement wasn’t made on the day of the incident — I’m talking about the 29^th.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Meaning, around the time you were arrested.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Even there, in your statement, you said, “Ten days after the incident…”​

Salim Güran : They wouldn’t let me sleep. They kept me awake all night. They didn’t give me drinking water. I couldn’t think straight.​

Presiding Judge : Mr. Eren, please continue with your questions. I also want to clarify something — since there were accusations against the Diyarbakır Bar Association. You said you were left waiting for an hour and a half during your statement. The reason was that every lawyer we appointed through the system declined the case. We couldn’t find one who accepted. Finally, the seventh one did, and your private lawyer arrived.​

Salim Güran : Couldn’t they have seated me for half an hour?​

Law. Nahit Eren : I can’t speak to that, but yes, there was about an hour and a half delay. As a Bar president, I can confirm that multiple lawyers declined the assignment, which caused the delay. Eventually, one accepted and went, and then your private counsel arrived. Now, you say you didn’t go to Hüseyin’s after dropping the kids home around 02:30. We agree on that. So where did you go?​

Salim Güran : After speaking with Ramazan, I went to Uncle Hüseyin’s — within the village.​

Law. Nahit Eren : According to the school’s security footage, you were seen near Hüseyin’s house at 06:57. You went there between 06:00 and 06:30.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So why did you previously move that event back to 02:30? You said it was due to shock. All right. But according to the cell tower data, at 02:52, you were still near Arif’s house. Didn’t you leave?​

Salim Güran : I was at home.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Is your wife lying, then? She said that after eating, you left about ten to fifteen minutes later. Is that a lie?​

Salim Güran : I ate, yes. But what time did we leave?​

Law. Nahit Eren : That’s what I’m asking — what time did you leave the house?​

Law. Nahit Eren : Around ten or fifteen minutes before four o’clock, you went up to the drilling site, right? The electricians came, right?​

Law. Nahit Eren : Up to now, you’ve said that before going to the upper area, you dropped off the girls in Uzunbahçe Village. So now, Salim Güran, you’re saying you stayed home until four, correct? But in all your previous statements, you said during that same time you were at Hüseyin’s, in Uzunbahçe, or at your father-in-law’s farm with Ramazan. Did you go to the farm that day with Ramazan?​

Salim Güran : To the farm?​

Law. Nahit Eren : Yes, that day.​

Salim Güran : Yes, we went with Ramazan.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You did. Then let’s reconstruct this together. You left home at four. After that, where did you go?​

Salim Güran : Let me explain. On the 20^th or 21^st — we dropped off his sister, then went to the farm.​

Law. Nahit Eren : That wasn’t the day Narin disappeared — that was the 21^st, right?​

Salim Güran : It was on the 20^th, he says.​

Law. Nahit Eren : The 20^th, fine. As I said, I’ve reviewed all your statements and the witnesses’ accounts. You’ve compressed everything that happened on the day of the incident into a window between 12:00 and 16:00. So I’m asking: if those events actually happened on the 19^th, not the 20^th, since the HTS records show you took the two girls to Uzunbahçe Village on the 19^th, and Ramazan confirmed this, then tell us — what did you do on the 21^th, the day Narin disappeared? Go hour by hour, as best you can remember.​

Salim Güran : I said, when the girl came back from the market…​

Law. Nahit Eren : You came home, had dinner. Your wife said you left right after eating — to go to the field.​

Salim Güran : I said I’d rest a bit.​

Law. Nahit Eren : But earlier you said you left at four.​

Salim Güran : I left before four.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Before four. All right — what did you do next?​

Salim Güran : I went to my drilling site between Karakoç and Tavşantepe.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So you didn’t go to Uzunbahçe?​

Salim Güran : I went there — the electricians came. Ramazan was there, and another man, I can’t recall his name.​

Presiding Judge : Hasan. Hasan.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You didn’t go to the farm that day, right? You went with Ramazan?​

Salim Güran : Maybe we did, maybe not. I’m not sure — it could’ve been on the 20^th.​

Law. Nahit Eren : All right. In your earlier statements, you said you called Mehmet Selim Atasoy from the drilling site and asked him to come.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Nahit Eren : What time did he arrive?​

Salim Güran : He came a bit late. By the time I was leaving — around six.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Around 16:30.​

Salim Güran : He had just arrived then.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So around 16:00, according to Ramazan’s statement, you were at the drilling site. Do you remember Mehmet Selim arriving at the field then?​

Salim Güran : No, I told you — I went around six, and he came after me.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So Mehmet Selim Atasoy came around 18:00? What about the lower field — what time did he go there?​

Salim Güran : The lower field?​

Law. Nahit Eren : Yes.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t go — I stayed there.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You didn’t go. Mehmet Selim Atasoy says he went to the cornfield between Çarıklı and Tavşantepe.​

Salim Güran : It’s two separate plots — both down below.​

Law. Nahit Eren : What time did you send him there?​

Salim Güran : I didn’t send him. He went on his own.​

Law. Nahit Eren : He went himself. All right — in his statement, he says he came around 16:00, and according to the tower data, you went to the upper field at 16:10. Then Mehmet Selim arrived. You sent him to the cornfield to redirect the water flow, didn’t you?​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember sending him anywhere.​

Law. Nahit Eren : At 16:28, Mehmet Selim says a vehicle was spinning its tires. Where? Can we play the audio, Mr. President?​

Presiding Judge : Of course. Technicians, can we do that? Okay.​

Law. Nahit Eren : At 16:28.​

Presiding Judge : Does he remember this?​

Law. Nahit Eren : No, it’s his own voice on the recording. Do you deny the phone recordings?​

Presiding Judge : I’m just asking if he remembers.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Do you deny the phone recordings?​

Salim Güran : Atasoy says a car’s spinning its tires?​

Law. Nahit Eren : He says, “I can’t get the wheel out — it’s stuck.”​

Salim Güran : What day was this?​

Law. Nahit Eren : The same day Narin went missing.​

Salim Güran : I don’t know.​

Law. Nahit Eren : The audio exists — it’s in the file.​

Salim Güran : Ask him.​

Law. Nahit Eren : I’m asking you — you’re the one he’s speaking to.​

Salim Güran : I said the wheel’s spinning?​

Law. Nahit Eren : No, he said it to you.​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember.​

Presiding Judge : He’s not denying it — he says he doesn’t remember. If he denied it, we’d play the recording, but he says he doesn’t recall.​

Law. Nahit Eren : All right. Here’s what I’m getting at. Based on your statements and the file, when Mehmet Selim came to the field, he was acting as Nevzat’s lookout, wasn’t he?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not. Never.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So you didn’t send him to that field.​

Salim Güran : No. I hired them for irrigation. I just went there sometimes to help.​

Law. Nahit Eren : I’m not making this up — he said you sent him.​

Salim Güran : He acts on his own. He knows the irrigation better than I do. I just go and help.​

Presiding Judge : All right.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Fine. Now let’s clarify the cell tower data. Since the defense also questioned it, I’ll explain for accuracy. Tavşantepe village and Eğertutmaz stream fall within the overlapping coverage areas of Sur, Bağlar, and neighboring villages. Did you review the narrowed cell tower report?​

Salim Güran : No, I didn’t.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You didn’t look at it at all. The data shows that every movement between your house and Arif’s changes cell towers. The report tells us exactly who moved where. Because there are multiple towers, every movement is traceable. Since this is evidence, I’ll ask you based on that.​

Salim Güran : I don’t know how that works. But if Nevzat’s phone connected there, and mine too, and Enes’s too, then everyone — my family, Nevzat’s family, the neighbors — must be there as well. How can my phone connect to somewhere I didn’t go?​

Law. Nahit Eren : According to the report — I’m reading directly — at 14:52, you left your house.​

Salim Güran : Okay.​

Law. Nahit Eren : After leaving, according to the data — please answer clearly — you went toward Arif’s house via the side road. You entered Arif’s house at 15:20.​

Salim Güran : That’s not true.​

Law. Nahit Eren : According to the cell data, you entered, exited, and entered again.​

Salim Güran : I absolutely did not cross to the other side of the street. I got in the car, turned around, and left.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So you left home at four o’clock then?​

Salim Güran : Honestly, I don’t quite remember — around four maybe. Not exactly four.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So you don’t accept this cell tower data. Fine. My question is this — the WhatsApp call logs have been added to the file.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Nahit Eren : As a report. The ones you deleted, right?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Nahit Eren : My colleague asked earlier. I’ll ask you again in relation to the evening calls. We accept that you were home until four o’clock. Were all your children at home? What are your daughters’ names?​

Salim Güran : Devran wasn’t home.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Devran went to the creek.​

Salim Güran : While I was resting, Dilan went from her aunt’s place to the drilling site. My daughters were at home.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So, officially recorded as Dilek, Rezan, Rojin, and Gizem — they were home. According to the indictment and cell tower data, after Ramazan left the house at 15:36, you called Dilek at 15:39 — you spoke for 16 seconds. Then at 15:45, Dilek called you — a 7-second call. You were in the same house. Why were you calling each other?​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember, I don’t know. I don’t remember.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So you didn’t have any calls with Dilek at 15:39 or 15:45?​

Salim Güran : Are those numbers the same?​

Law. Nahit Eren : Let me tell you. Dilek — 0531 858 14 21. You called this number via WhatsApp at 15:39. Six minutes later, at 15:45, she called you back. You spoke for 7 seconds that time.​

Presiding Judge : One moment, continue. I just need to handle something. Go on, Mr. Eren.​

Law. Nahit Eren : I’d like you to hear this too, Your Honor.​

Presiding Judge : Then give me 30 seconds, please. Go ahead. Sorry about that.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So, did you or did you not make those two calls?​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You don’t remember.​

Presiding Judge : Mr. Eren, I’ve arranged for the next witnesses to be brought in — at least five or six of them.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Are we hearing witnesses today?​

Presiding Judge : By God’s will, yes. We’re here until morning.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Your Honor, just a second — let’s stay focused. Every time I get into the rhythm, you break my concentration. Honestly, I lose the thread.​

Presiding Judge : Everyone calm down. We’ll still hear the witnesses. If anyone wants to leave, we’ll excuse them after Salim’s statement. Go ahead, Mr. Eren.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So you don’t remember calling your daughter at 15:39 and 15:45?​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember, no. What would I remember?​

Law. Nahit Eren : You don’t remember.​

Salim Güran : It’s been two months. How should I know what I talked about?​

Law. Nahit Eren : On the day of the incident.​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember.​

Law. Nahit Eren : But you were in the same house. Your daughters say they left around four o’clock.​

Salim Güran : I said I don’t remember.​

Law. Nahit Eren : I see. So you don’t remember whether you made those calls or not?​

Salim Güran : I said I don’t remember.​

Multiple voices from the complainants’ attorneys were heard simultaneously, making it indistinguishable.​

Law. Nahit Eren : One more question. You went shopping that day. Your wife — pardon, Hediye, or rather Melek — said, “We came home and had dinner.” Do you remember what you ate that day?​

Salim Güran : I usually eat breakfast-type food. They must have prepared that for me.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You ate with your daughters?​

Salim Güran : No. I think it was me and my two sons.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So Dilek and Rojin, the daughters I mentioned, didn’t eat with you. Yet your wife says you left the house, while you claim you didn’t.​

Salim Güran : I rested for a bit after eating.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You rested. Did you see your children trying on the clothes they bought from the market?​

Salim Güran : Some of them changed and showed them.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So you saw them trying clothes on. All right. My colleague asked earlier — I want to make this concrete. You said you don’t remember the calls with Dilek. At 19:22 — meaning about 15 minutes after you were seen on the school’s camera at 18:57 or 18:59.​

Salim Güran : Which camera?​

Law. Nahit Eren : The one near the school. When you passed quickly by Hüseyin’s house. That footage.​

Salim Güran : That’s just the road we always use.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Sure, I’m not disputing that. My question is this — I want to remind you, since you said you don’t remember. You said earlier that Ramazan called you about a suspicious car, right?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Nahit Eren : How long did it take you to get there — to the drilling site?​

Salim Güran : Three or four minutes.​

Law. Nahit Eren : After arriving there, did you speak on the phone with Mehmet Şerif Güran?​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Maybe you’ll recall if I give you the times. Again, these are WhatsApp calls — not the daytime 353-second ones my colleague asked about.​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember that.​

Law. Nahit Eren : At 19:22, you called him. At 19:34, he called you. At 19:38, you called him. At 19:40, he called you. At 19:41, you called him. And then he called you again at 20:37.​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Did you or did you not have those WhatsApp calls?​

Salim Güran : When I called him on WhatsApp, I also sent him the photo of the pump.​

Law. Nahit Eren : During the day. What time did you go to the garden and take those photos?​

Salim Güran : With the electricians?​

Law. Nahit Eren : Yes. You said you were home at four.​

Salim Güran : Around four, maybe five. I’m not exactly sure.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Four or five. Did you ever speak to Vecdin on the phone?​

Salim Güran : I didn’t call — he called me.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Did he ever call you?​

Salim Güran : Yes, he did.​

Law. Nahit Eren : They asked you before, but I’ll ask again because the calls are sequential — you call him, then he calls Nevzat, then Nevzat calls you. I mentioned earlier that there were four or five calls between you. Do you remember the content of those conversations?​

Salim Güran : Look, Arif was there. I said, “Vedat keeps calling me nonstop.” He asked, “Did they find her?” I said, “No, not yet. Hopefully, they will.” Then Nevzat showed up. I said, “Look at that bastard — so that’s why he kept calling me.”​

Law. Nahit Eren : As the village headman, did you witness all the searches conducted by the gendarmerie?​

Salim Güran : No, it was very broad in scope.​

Law. Nahit Eren : During the first week, since searches were conducted in the upper part of the Eğertutmaz stream, all the water from the DSİ channel was diverted there.​

Salim Güran : Correct.​

Law. Nahit Eren : And Eğertutmaz was supplied with water from the DSİ canal for about a week to ten days.​

Salim Güran : Correct.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Were you present during that process?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Nahit Eren : How long did it take?​

Salim Güran : I went there myself. It’s a long distance — we cut off the water in two places.​

Law. Nahit Eren : How long did the DSİ water diversion to Eğertutmaz last? When did the water return to its normal flow?​

Salim Güran : After the searches ended.​

Law. Nahit Eren : How long after? According to the file, where and how was Narin’s body found?​

Salim Güran : I have no information.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You never wondered where it was?​

Salim Güran : Should I have gone there from prison?​

Law. Nahit Eren : Not to go — I mean, there are images in the file. Through your lawyers, or on TV, you could have seen them. Did you ever have that opportunity?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So you don’t know the exact location where she was found?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Even after she was found — because when you were arrested, she hadn’t been found yet — even afterward, you don’t know?​

Salim Güran : It wasn’t in a creek.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Can you picture the place where she was buried in your mind right now?​

Salim Güran : I don’t know. I can’t picture it.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You don’t know. You can’t imagine it. Let us explain — you haven’t seen it. Her body was left in a shallow pit, just beside the soil, a few centimeters from the surface. When the water from DSİ was diverted to Eğertutmaz, do you think that water reached over the place where her body was buried?​

Salim Güran : It must have.​

Law. Nahit Eren : By how many meters?​

Salim Güran : If it was a big flow and reached the pond, then it was already under the water.​

Law. Nahit Eren : What I’m trying to understand — since you were the village headman and part of the searches — I mean Narin’s body…​

Salim Güran : I didn’t go to that stream. I didn’t take part in the search there.​

Law. Nahit Eren : But you said the water was diverted there.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t go to that stream. I just heard they diverted the water.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You just said that searches were conducted eight times in Eğertutmaz — you said it yourself.​

Salim Güran : I said it because my lawyer told me to.​

Law. Nahit Eren : That’s exactly what I’m asking about. Do you know whether the DSİ (State Hydraulic Works) canal water continued flowing into the Eğertutmaz area or not? A clear question.​

Salim Güran : Not exactly, but it flowed there for quite a while.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Between the 27^th and 31^st, to prevent Eğertutmaz’s water from causing damage in Çarıklı, excavators from the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality were brought in to create a new flow path, working for four days to divert the water downstream completely. Were you involved in that?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Were you aware of it?​

Salim Güran : Only that when we were recording with JASAT, from our village to Gönenli — on our way back toward Çarıklı — I saw the excavator working there.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So you saw the excavator working. Do you recall whether the DSİ water was still flowing into Eğertutmaz at that time?​

Salim Güran : I don’t remember.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You were asked this before, but I’ll ask again — according to the cell tower data, aren’t you the one who drove to the place where Narin was taken and hidden by Nevzat?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not. If I had gone, then the entire village would’ve gone.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Yet the cell tower still places you there.​

Salim Güran : I don’t know what a cell tower is, but I didn’t go.​

Law. Nahit Eren : What’s a cell tower? I’m here right now, right? My phone shows me here. It measures where I connect from. It can tell whether connections overlap between towers.​

Salim Güran : I don’t believe in cell towers.​

Law. Nahit Eren : You don’t believe in them, fine.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t go to Arif’s house. You’re saying I did.​

Law. Nahit Eren : I’m not saying that — the report says it. Now, let’s talk about when you first heard the news. I want the audio recording played. Dilek calls you. She says, “Dad, Narin… Narin is missing.” What did you say?​

Salim Güran : What?​

Law. Nahit Eren : You didn’t understand at first — yes, the signal was bad, it cut off. You then told Mehmet Selim Atasoy, “Come on, let’s go.”​

Salim Güran : No.​

Law. Nahit Eren : It’s on the recording. Can we please play it? It’s in the audio file. May I play it for confirmation?​

Presiding Judge : Play it — or just read the transcript. That’s sufficient, Mr. Eren.​

Law. Nahit Eren : I’d prefer to play it, Your Honor.​

Presiding Judge : Go ahead.​

Law. Nahit Eren : The phone recorded not only the conversation but also the background sounds — people nearby, neighborhood noise.​

Salim Güran : Fine, I told you — Selim Atasoy came to the village with me. What are you after?​

Law. Nahit Eren : I’m asking you directly — is that dialogue correct? Is that dialogue correct?​

Salim Güran : I told you, he came with me.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Did you say, “Come on, let’s go,” or not? That’s what I’m asking.​

Salim Güran : He said it to me — “Wait, I’m coming too.” He left his two sons there and came to the village with me.​

Law. Nahit Eren : I’m not asking about the content — just to verify the voice. Let’s play it to confirm it’s you.​

Presiding Judge : If you tell us the file number, we can open it on our computer.​

The court panel, defense attorneys, and complainants’ lawyers attempted to locate and play the audio file. Due to overlapping sounds, this part was not transcribed.​

Presiding Judge : Yes. The female voice — around eight o’clock, correct?​

Law. Nahit Eren : Correct.​

Presiding Judge : The female caller — a small girl beside her says, “Grandpa.” Then the woman says, “Salim, Narin is missing.” Salim says, “How did she go missing?” The woman says, “Narin—” followed by static. Salim says, “Hello? Hello?” Then to someone nearby — “Mehmet Şirin, come with me.” That’s what I’m asking about — Mehmet Şirin.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Do you remember?​

Salim Güran : I said I did.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Earlier, you said you didn’t. Shall we play the recording, Your Honor?​

Salim Güran : I told you, I went to the village with Mehmet Şirin. That’s when I understood Narin was missing.​

Law. Nahit Eren : The call was cut, right? You didn’t try calling again?​

Salim Güran : I went — it took about two minutes. I was already there.​

Law. Nahit Eren : Did you fully understand that she was missing?​

Salim Güran : Yes, we realized she was missing.​

Law. Nahit Eren : How? What kind of disappearance made you go?​

Salim Güran : I was there within two or three minutes.​

Law. Nahit Eren : No — I mean, how did you perceive it? What kind of disappearance did you think it was?​

Presiding Judge : Answer properly, in a decent tone.​

Salim Güran : No, no.​

Presiding Judge : If you don’t remember, say so.​

Salim Güran : I said I remember.​

Presiding Judge : Don’t say, “What are you after?”​

Salim Güran : I’d like to remain silent.​

Presiding Judge : Then say that — “I don’t want to answer.” That’s fine.​

Presiding Judge : If you say you don’t wish to answer this question, we’ll move on. Go ahead, Mr. Eren.​

Law. Nahit Eren : So is it this question you don’t want to answer, or all of them in general? If it’s just this one, fine. Do you wish to remain silent in general, or just on this topic?​

Salim Güran : Just this one.​

Presiding Judge : All right, that’s fine.​

Ministry of Family and Social Services ​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz ​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : Melike Güran gave a statement — you know her, right?​

Salim Güran : Yes, she’s my uncle’s daughter.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : Right. She said — and this is her statement, not mine — that you told her to say that Narin went missing at 17:40. Is that true?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : Did you tell Birsen Güran the same thing?​

Salim Güran : No, I didn’t.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : Well, Birsen reportedly told her mother that you did.​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : Then why would they lie? Why?​

Salim Güran : Ask them why they’re lying.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : We will. But I’m asking you now — because they said you did.​

Salim Güran : I didn’t.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : All right. Do you know that Hediye Güran changed her phone a few days after Narin went missing?​

Salim Güran : Who changed it?​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : Hediye Güran.​

Salim Güran : I had no idea.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : Okay. Now, according to Arif Güran’s statement — and I’m quoting — he said their relations with Nevzat were good, and also good with you. He even said, “We searched together.”​

Salim Güran : I told you already — I hadn’t spoken to him for two and a half months.​

Presiding Judge : Salim, look at me.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : But your brother said, “We searched together — all of us.”​

Salim Güran : After the plastering work on that house, I told him not to call me, and I didn’t call him either.​

Presiding Judge : All right, you’ve answered that. We’ve asked three times.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : Do you know Gazal Bahtiyar?​

Salim Güran : I do.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : She’s Mr. Nevzat’s wife. She said — and again, this is from her witness statement — that you and Nevzat called each other “brother.”​

Salim Güran : There’s no such thing. That’s a lie.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : She also said that after Narin went missing, “They excluded us.” Referring to you.​

Salim Güran : When I gave my statement, I said we were just normal friends — like with any other villager. They exaggerate it as “close friends.”​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : That’s your version, but Ms. Gazal’s testimony says otherwise.​

Presiding Judge : All right.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : She also said that after Narin disappeared, the Güran family — mainly you — didn’t let outsiders in. For reference: Narin disappeared on the 21^st, you were arrested on September 2, and she was found on September 8. Please keep those dates in mind.​

Presiding Judge : So — is that true or not?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Presiding Judge : Okay, that’s enough.​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : These are statements taken for information. I’m just asking if they’re true. Why would they lie? The Chief Judge already noted there are about twelve contradictory statements in the file. You claim to remember only what benefits you, and you reject the rest — like the cell tower data.​

Salim Güran : Of course I reject it. Why should I accept something about a place I never went?​

Law. Abdullah Yılmaz : No need to get angry. Finally, Your Honor, I’ll close with one question. The Eğertutmaz stream — it appears three times in the file, and the Judge said eight. Did you go there with the gendarmerie for the searches — eight times?​

Salim Güran : I told you, I didn’t go there. I didn’t take part in the searches.​

Law. Şeyhmus Erdoğan ​

Law. Şeyhmus Erdoğan : Can you hear my voice?​

Presiding Judge : Yes, we can.​

Law. Şeyhmus Erdoğan : Do you ever carry a gun? Do you own one?​

Salim Güran : I have an official service weapon.​

Law. Şeyhmus Erdoğan : Because Mr. Nevzat stated in his testimony that you threatened him with a gun.​

Salim Güran : He’s lying. He’s making it up. He’s not afraid of anyone. Once, Gazal called me one evening — she said, “Hurry, come! He’s killed your brother!” I went to my brother’s house — he had entered and was hitting him on the head with a rifle butt. Hitting him! If I hadn’t arrived, my brother would have been dead.​

Law. Şeyhmus Erdoğan : After you learned about the disappearance, did you go home at all?​

Presiding Judge : What?​

Law. Şeyhmus Erdoğan : After you learned she was missing.​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Şeyhmus Erdoğan : Did you go home or join the search?​

Salim Güran : I went home.​

Law. Şeyhmus Erdoğan : You went home. You said your house and Arif’s house are across from each other. You did go home, right?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Şeyhmus Erdoğan : So you deny changing your clothes, correct?​

Presiding Judge : He said he didn’t change.​

Defense Counsel for Enes Güran ​

Law. Mustafa Demir ​

Law. Mustafa Demir : There’s a document said to be retrieved WhatsApp data, but nowhere here does it actually say it’s WhatsApp. Where did that come from? It says in the document that a program was used to recover deleted data. After running that program, some call logs appeared. They show names and call durations — incoming or outgoing. The prosecution likely checked whether he spoke with Nevzat — and yes, it says he did, at 17:46:32. But when they checked the HTS records, there was no such call. So they assumed it must have been a WhatsApp call. There’s no technical data confirming that. I compared these calls side by side with the HTS logs — they are identical. The only difference is a time shift of 2 hours, 38 minutes, and 27 seconds. If you add that offset to all HTS calls, they perfectly match. Same durations, same order. Even the one said to be a WhatsApp call — 444 69 96 — is actually DEPSAŞ, the electricity company. So apparently they’re saying he called an electricity hotline through WhatsApp. Clearly, this isn’t WhatsApp.​

Presiding Judge : Okay, your question?​

Law. Mustafa Demir : Right. As I said earlier, much of this case has been shaped by perceptions. I have a small map here — we planned to prepare a larger one, but this will do. Here is where Narin’s body was buried. Can he show us where the cornfield is?​

Presiding Judge : Of course.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : The spot where Narin’s body was found — where’s the cornfield?​

The map was shown to the defendant Salim Güran, and he marked it.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : The area we shaded — is that correct?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : The yellow dot there — how far is it? Speak into the microphone, please. This is important because the so-called “narrowed HTS data” indicates movement toward where Narin’s body was found. But according to Mr. Salim’s HTS records, he was simply within the cornfield area. What is the size of this cornfield?​

Salim Güran : About 135 dönüms.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : So within 135 dönüms, it could be anywhere. But they interpreted that as “he went to the body.” That’s how they read the narrowed HTS data. There are many issues like this. Also, there’s a key detail in another conversation — apparently with the gendarmerie. It says around 3 or 3:30. What I understand is that everyone gave different times, which caused confusion — people even claimed to see things at times they weren’t there. Someone outside the core family said they saw a red car in the village around that time. Later, at 20:29, there’s another conversation. Do you remember such a talk?​

Salim Güran : I didn’t have such a conversation. Maybe they mentioned “gypsies,” but not a red car.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : Whether knowingly or not, you gave useful information. There’s another recorded talk at 20:39 with a gendarmerie officer. The officer says, “We’re searching everywhere.” The gendarme asks, “Did you check the hill?” The reply: “Yes, commander, the whole village is out searching.” The officer says, “The hill’s camera?” and he replies, “Yes, commander, the hill’s camera shows it.” That’s key — you’ve lived there a long time, right?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : There’s a military base across the village, correct?​

Salim Güran : Correct.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : How clearly does that base’s camera see your village?​

Salim Güran : Like a mirror — perfectly clear.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : Really?​

Salim Güran : Yes. Unless curtains block the windows in Kamışlo, you can see people clearly. How could it not see our place?​

Law. Mustafa Demir : Did you ever request that footage?​

Salim Güran : We’ve been asking — they won’t look at it. I told the judge, “Your Honor, I want that camera footage.” That camera would show exactly how Narin was taken.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : In your village, during weddings or when shots were fired, did that same camera record it?​

Salim Güran : Yes, one evening shots were fired. They came from the outpost and said, “It wasn’t us — it was you.” I said, “Bring the footage, then.”​

Law. Mustafa Demir : That’s what I’m emphasizing. There are camera recordings in the file. I’d like to show two of them — four total, actually. They’re already in the file, but ours are low quality due to scanning. The key point is this: in one video at timestamp 12:00, it shows a vehicle turning left from the road below the school in Tavşantepe neighborhood toward the Diyarbakır–Mardin highway. So clearly, the cameras can capture not just cars but even people moving in the village. If they can report that, then more is possible. We once thought TÜBİTAK had those images — we hoped they’d clarify everything. They mention 03:00–03:30 in the logs. The gendarme was informed after 20:00. That means the footage exists. We know this. If it were reviewed, and as alleged you entered the family’s house, would that be visible?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : If instead you took another path — say, near the school, or the route Nevzat claims, to get a blanket — would that also be visible?​

Salim Güran : Of course. Everything’s visible. There are no blind spots.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : You’d know that better as the village headman.​

Salim Güran : I know it very well. Let them check — at the exact minute Narin walked up the path. Open that footage. Everyone will see. I’m ready.​

Presiding Judge : When were you taken into custody, Mr. Salim?​

Salim Güran : On the second. Then I was detained. Before that, they brought me in and out a few times.​

Presiding Judge : You said you know all this very well, yet in your earlier statements you never requested those recordings.​

Salim Güran : I said they’d check the cameras. How was I supposed to know? They checked after six, when the sun was setting, and said “the sunlight blocks the view.” But when she walked up the path, the sun wasn’t even low — it was overhead.​

Presiding Judge : So you didn’t push for it because you thought the sun affected visibility?​

Salim Güran : Otherwise, I would have, Your Honor.​

Presiding Judge : All right.​

Salim Güran : It’s a very clear camera — I’ve seen it.​

Presiding Judge : Okay, we’ll ask about it.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : One more question — did you ever delete anything from the listening or recording app on your phone? Did you deliberately erase any recordings?​

Salim Güran : I used to delete things before too.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : So, just like clearing WhatsApp chats — part of your normal habit, not after the incident?​

Salim Güran : Yes, I used to delete them regularly.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : All right. Your Honor, I’d like to present this last point briefly.​

Presiding Judge : We’ll take it at the end — or now, if you prefer.​

Law. Mustafa Demir : So, about the 17:46 call — it’s actually the same as the 15:08 call. There’s only a shift of two hours, thirty-eight minutes, and twenty-seven seconds — even milliseconds match. Thank you.​

Presiding Judge : You said earlier you didn’t go to the cornfield at night?​

Salim Güran : I didn’t. I went in the morning.​

Presiding Judge : All right. Proceed.​

Defense Counsel for Salim Güran ​

Law. Onur Akdağ ​

Law. Onur Akdağ : Your Honor, Mr. Nahit Eren persistently questioned my client about WhatsApp calls — in good faith, of course — and Mr. Mustafa Demir just explained politely. But here’s the crucial issue: since the prosecution couldn’t produce solid evidence against my client, they fabricated one. The document claiming to “restore WhatsApp call data” is a forgery. The HTS log for August 21 was copied entirely, and every timestamp was shifted by about two hours and thirty-nine minutes to create a fake “WhatsApp list.” For example, in HTS records, Nevzat called Salim at 15:08 — in this fake list, it appears as 17:46. There’s also a 444 69 96 call to DEPSAŞ in HTS — the same number appears in the so-called deleted WhatsApp calls. Can anyone call a 444 number through WhatsApp, Your Honor?​

Presiding Judge : I’ve learned many things from this case. I’ll test that myself.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : Please do — I already tried and couldn’t. 444 69 96 is DEPSAŞ’s number, Your Honor.​

Presiding Judge : I’ll test it tomorrow.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : Between 13:00 and 16:06, he spoke with his daughter Dilek. Do you know where? While shopping in Diyarbakır.​

Presiding Judge : Are you making a defense or asking a question?​

Law. Onur Akdağ : I’m clarifying, Your Honor — so the same mistake isn’t repeated against my client.​

Presiding Judge : All right, please sit. Two or three minutes for defense.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : Add two hours and nine minutes — 15:39 and 15:46. There — that’s the tragic end of the supposed “recovered WhatsApp logs.” My client’s statement is clear: Nevzat buried the girl, then called Salim and said he’d done so. This entire theory was planted in the prosecutor’s mind. We’re stating this now so it won’t be repeated later. We planned to cover it in our defense, but we were provoked. Now, I’ll just ask a few brief questions. When was the last time you called Nevzat Bahtiyar?​

Salim Güran : Me?​

Law. Onur Akdağ : Yes. Approximately when? Not the day of the incident — just roughly.​

Salim Güran : I’ve been in custody for two months. Before that, I hadn’t spoken to him for two and a half months. Definitely not.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : Did you ever talk with Nevzat Bahtiyar about women — flirtation, escorts, that kind of thing?​

Salim Güran : Absolutely not.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : So you didn’t have that kind of closeness with him?​

Salim Güran : No.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : In his first statements, Nevzat mentioned only you — not Yüksel. Later, he shifted to include Yüksel. Why do you think that is?​

Salim Güran : He follows the media.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : Exactly. On September 9, during Didem Arslan’s TV program, the “Salim and Nevzat” accusation was first broadcast. After that, Nevzat’s statements began to include Yüksel too. My client had said earlier — “He studied his lesson on TV for a week.” That’s what he meant. Now, why do you think Nevzat mentioned your name at all?​

Salim Güran : Why? They detained me. They said, “Your car — we need you.” Then my lawyer, Seda Tuğrul, suddenly quit — as if something was wrong. I have a daughter too. She quit and made it look suspicious — like she’d seen something. The media attacked me — everyone did.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : Did the late Narin Güran ever play with your children in front of your house? Did she ride in your car?​

Salim Güran : In the evenings, yes, she’d play outside — sometimes she’d get in the car. She was a child. That old car actually belonged to my brother Fuat Güran. We all used it — me, Arif, and the others.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : Was any of your car’s windows broken?​

Salim Güran : Yes.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : Which one?​

Salim Güran : The driver’s window — when lowered, it drops crookedly, head-first. Needs fixing. The other one doesn’t go down at all.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : The front one?​

Salim Güran : The rear right window — it doesn’t move at all. It’s broken.​

Law. Onur Akdağ : Well, in Nevzat Bahtiyar’s first statement, he said, “We pulled up, and I took her through the right window.” The glass report from October 9 actually confirms my client’s version. I wanted to note that. Thank you.​

Presiding Judge : Thank you.​