Narin Guran, an eight-year-old girl whose disappearance and death sparked widespread anger in Turkey, was strangled on the day she went missing, a postmortem examination has found.
Narin's body was found in a sack that was dumped in a river in the south-eastern province of Diyarbakir on September 8, almost three weeks after she disappeared after attending Quran study in her village of Tavsantepe.
The cause of her death was “asphyxiation as a result of closure of the mouth and nose and compression of the neck”, said the head of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, Nahit Eren. He was quoting an unpublished report of the postmortem examination carried out by Istanbul's Forensic Medicine Institute, part of Turkey's Justice Ministry.
Narin was killed on August 21, the day she went missing, and there was no evidence of poisoning, Mr Eren said.
He said forensic doctors were unable to determine if she had been subjected to sexual assault. An animal appeared to have bitten her left leg below the knee after she was killed, causing part of the limb to detach from her body. Some of her teeth were also found loose in the sack in which her body was found.
Narin’s murder provoked widespread anger in Turkey, where rights groups say at least 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.
Authorities detained about two dozen people in connection with Narin's death, including her parents and members of her extended family. Her father, local car dealer Arif Guran, was released last week after questioning, but her mother and brother were arrested on suspicion of complicity in deliberate murder.
They are among 12 people currently under formal arrest and investigation by the Diyarbakir prosecutor’s office in connection with the murder, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on Monday.
One of them, an uncle of Narin called Salim Guran, was arrested on September 2 on suspicion of premeditated murder and deprivation of liberty after the girl’s 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. The region is a relatively poor and conservative part of south-eastern Turkey, where most residents are from the Kurdish ethnic minority.
On Sunday, Turkey’s Scientific and Technological Research Council was handed camera footage obtained from houses in Tavsantepe, which may lead to more information about the murder, Mr Tunc said at a forensic medicine conference in the Turkish city of Antalya.
Turkish authorities have criticised journalists and social media users for widespread commentary and speculation on the murder investigation, which has dominated local channels in the country.
“For the sake of the investigation, it is necessary to avoid issues that may lead to different interpretations,” Mr Tunc said. “Therefore, the murderers of our delicate girl, our delicate child, will definitely be identified within the scope of the investigation and brought before the judiciary. It will not take too long and as a result of a trial to be opened in this sense, her killer or killers will be held accountable before the judiciary, before the nation.”
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
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'C'mon C'mon'
Director:Mike Mills
Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman
Rating: 4/5
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
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iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
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iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
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Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
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Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
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strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EXPATS
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'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
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Key facilities
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
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Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
