Turkish authorities have referred to court for arrest nine suspects including the parents of an 8-year-old girl who went missing in southeast Turkey last month and was found dead on Sunday after a days-long search, the Sözcü daily reported on Thursday.
Narin Güran had disappeared on August 21. Her body was found on September 8 in a sack in a river in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, around one kilometer from the village where she lived with her family.
The girl’s uncle, Salim Güran, also the mukhtar of the village, was arrested on September 3 on suspicion of murder and deprivation of liberty after DNA samples taken from his car matched DNA on the girl’s clothes.
Diyarbakır prosecutors have detained 24 people in connection to the girl’s murder, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced earlier this week.
According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, 22 suspects, including Narin’s father Arif Güran, mother Yüksel Güran, two elder brothers, five cousins, six uncles and an aunt, were referred to court on Thursday.
The Sözcü daily reported later that nine of the suspects, including the girl’s parents, were referred to court for arrest, while the interrogation of 13 individuals is ongoing at the courthouse.
The developments come after a suspect, identified as Nevzat Bahtiyar, was arrested by a court after confessing to disposing of Narin’s body for the uncle, Salim Güran, in exchange for TL 200,000 (around $6,000).
Meanwhile, minister Tunç on Thursday said in a press statement that the evidence obtained so far in the investigation into the murder contains significant data.
“Tissue samples are being examined by the Council of Forensic Medicine. … It is our duty to bring Narin’s killers to justice,” the minister added.
The 8-year-old’s family also released a written statement on Thursday, saying that their detention was a result of the “exploitation” of Narin’s murder and adding that they have faced “ruthless attacks and slander” violating their personal rights.
“All entities of our state have mobilized their resources to solve the case. We do not doubt that the perpetrators of our daughter Narin’s murder will be found and that they will be punished with the heaviest penalty,” the statement read.
The statement also said the family members “could not imagine” killing their own daughter.
“But if such a situation exists, the defamation of an entire family due to one person is influenced by certain external forces and their local extensions,” the family said.
The murder of Narin and the authorities’ failure to locate her body for 19 days have led to criticism and raised suspicions about a coverup of the murder.
Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Diyarbakır lawmaker Galip Ensarioğlu sparked a backlash on social media when he said, following the discovery of the girl’s body, that members of the Güran family are friends of his and that he wants to avoid things that will hurt them further.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Diyarbakır, İstanbul and several other cities on Sunday demanding justice for the little girl.
Narin was laid to rest on Monday in the village where she went missing after an autopsy was conducted on Sunday at the Diyarbakır Council of Forensic Medicine.