After being subjected to one of the most horrific incidents that Turkey has witnessed recently, the body of the child Narin Goran was buried yesterday, Monday, September 9, in the city of Diyarbakir (south of the country), while her murder received special attention from public opinion.
Goran had disappeared since August 21, 2024, after she went out to attend a Quran memorization course in her village, before her body was found. Wrapped in a plastic bag and dumped in a rugged area next to a river after 19 days, initial examinations confirmed that Narin had been strangled and had a broken foot, while investigations indicated that the body had been in the water for 15 days, making it difficult to determine the exact time of death.
According to local media, one of the suspects claimed that the girl’s uncle – who holds the position of village headman – was involved in the crime, and asked someone to dispose of the body of the 8-year-old girl in exchange for a large sum of money.
According to newspapers, DNA samples found on the girl’s clothes matched those found in the uncle’s car, prompting authorities to arrest him.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on his official account on the “X” platform, on Sunday, that the girl’s body had been found, noting that “security forces found the body of Narin, who was unfortunately lost in Tavshan Tepe in the Baglar district of Diyarbakir.”
Turkish authorities are continuing their intensive investigations, with 24 people – including members of her family – arrested so far. Local press also reported that the investigation into the death of Narin’s older sister, who was disabled and died when she was nine years old, has been reopened.It was said at the time that the cause of her death was falling down the stairs.
Crime investigation details
According to local media, one of the suspects gave a statement saying: “I got out of my house in my car and saw the mayor approaching me in a white car. He pointed to something wrapped in a blanket in the front passenger seat of his car and said, ‘Get rid of this.’”
He added, “When I approached and opened the blanket, I was surprised to see a lifeless child and hesitated. He said to me: Think about your family, I will give you 200 thousand liras and get rid of it. Do you have a bag in your car? So I took a bag out of the trunk of my car and we put the child inside it.”
“I stopped my car far away at the edge of the valley and threw the bag in a shallow place containing some water and put a large stone on top of it to hide it,” he concluded.
The murder of Goran sparked anger in the Turkish street, as pictures of the child spread on social media platforms with the hashtag “Narin”, which became the most popular on the “X” website, and citizens demanded that the competent authorities impose the most severe penalties on the perpetrators of the crime.
President Erdogan follows up on the case
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is closely following the case of Goran’s murder. He said on his official account on the “X” platform on Sunday, “I pray to God to have mercy on our daughter Narin, whose body was found in the Baglar district of Diyarbakir. The sad news of Narin, who was brutally murdered, has deeply wounded us all. There is no description of our grief. Since we received the report of the loss of our little girl, our security forces have made intensive efforts to reach her alive.”
“Know that I will personally follow up on the legal process to ensure that those who took our precious child from us receive the harshest punishment they deserve,” he concluded.
Women’s organizations held protests in several Turkish states to condemn Goran’s killing, with protesters saying in a statement, “Schools are open tomorrow. Narin could have gone to school, but instead, we are discussing her death.”
For its part, the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party demanded that the details of the crime be declassified, while “We are in great pain. Our greatest wish is that such incidents will not come to the fore again,” said Welfare Again Party leader Fatih Erbakan on Monday.
It is noteworthy that Turkey officially abolished the death penalty in 2003 as part of its efforts to join the European Union, which considers the abolition of this penalty one of the most important conditions for membership in the European bloc.
