Authorities in Turkey have detained three more relatives of a girl whose murder has captivated the nation for weeks during the search for her body.
The body of Narin Guran, 8, was found in a sack in a river in the south-eastern province of Diyarbakir on September 8, nearly three weeks after her disappearance. The sack had been covered with leaves and stones in an attempt to hide it, the local governor said.
Hediye Guran, one of Narin's aunts, was detained on Saturday and two cousins, identified only as IK and SK, were brought in for questioning on Sunday on suspicion of disrupting the work of security forces and search teams with false reports, Turkish news channel TRT reported. They could be either released or formally arrested after appearing in court on Monday.
Narin’s murder has provoked widespread anger in Turkey, where rights groups say 14 girls have been killed this year, nine of them with their mothers. Campaigners say authorities are failing to protect women and children from violence, often at the hands of male relatives. More than 10 relatives have been implicated in her death.
A 32-person team at Istanbul Forensic Institute is examining bone and tissue samples to determine the exact cause of Narin's death. There were few signs of violence on her body apart from some redness behind her ear.
Narin's father was released from police questioning on Friday and told local media he was confident her killers would be found.
“May God bring this fire to their house too. Who wanted what from us? We were a nuclear, caring family,” said Arif Guran, a car dealer whose family owns land in the area.
“The whole village can be taken until this investigation is over. Me too, but in the end the state will solve this. I believe that,” he said.
Authorities initially detained about two dozen people over Narin's murder, including her parents and members of her extended family. Eleven have been formally arrested, including her mother and older brother, who are suspected of complicity in deliberate murder. Six other relatives and locals, including and a man who worked for the family, have been arrested on suspicion of destroying criminal evidence and favouring the criminal.
Narin's uncle, Salim Guran, was arrested on September 2 on suspicion of premeditated murder and deprivation of liberty after her DNA was found in his car. His associate, Nevzat Bahtiyar, was arrested on suspicion of the same crimes and confessed to hiding Narin’s body in the Egertutmaz stream, near the family's home in Tavsantepe district of Diyarbakir province. The region is a relatively poor and conservative part of south-eastern Turkey, where most residents are from the Kurdish ethnic minority.
On Friday security forces also arrested a 15-year-old, identified only as RA, who worked for Salim Guran. He was questioned over apparent discrepancies in his statement to police and about a text message in which he asked Mr Guran, “OK, I don't have it yet/okay, it's not dead yet?”, state media reported.
Turkish authorities have criticised journalists and social media users for widespread commentary on the murder investigation, which has dominated local channels in Turkey.
“It is the wish of all of us that an effective investigation can be carried out, that the material truth is revealed, and that those who murdered our delicate girl are brought before the judiciary and sentenced to the harshest punishment in our law without jeopardising the confidentiality of the investigation,” Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on Friday.
State authorities often ban reporting on topics deemed to be sensitive, in what rights groups say are curbs on press freedom.