TURKEY: Murdered Syriac man buried in Beth Debe, Tur Abdin

BETH DEBE / TUR ABDIN, Turkey – The Syriac man Gevriye Sarı who was murdered in the village of Beth Debe, Tur Abdin,  on August 8 was buried today at the cemetery adjacent to the Church of the Virgin Mary Church Cemetery in Beth Debe.

Gevriye Sari was killed in his house with a firearm at around 10 in the evening on August 8 by an unknown person(s). According to the autopsy report he was killed by three bullets.

The village of Beth Debe (Turkish: Dibek) in the Nusaybin district of Mardin is near the Syriac Orthodox Mor Yakup Monastery.

Gevriye Sarı toprağa verildi

Mardin’in Nusaybin ilçesine bağlı Badıbe köyünde 8 Ağustos'ta evinde ateşli silahla katledilen Gevriye Sarı, köydeki Meryem Ana Kilisesi Mezarlığı'nda ilahiler eşliğinde son yolculuğuna uğurlandı.https://t.co/By6HbwIK8Q pic.twitter.com/cSowz8XiNi

— Gazete Sabro (@gazetesabro) August 12, 2021

The funeral service was led by a Syriac monk and priests and was accompanied by orthodox funeral hymns. Many Syriacs, local residents and those visiting the traditional Syriac region in summer, attended the funeral. Syriac Member of the Turkish Parliament for Mardin Tuma Çelik was also present.

Turkish authorities have started an investigation into the killing of Gevriye Sari. Whether the perpetrator(s) will be found is highly doubtful. Turkish law enforcers have a poor track record in Syriac murder cases.

According to a report by the European Syriac Union, there were 45 of unsolved murder cases – “faili meçhul” – between 1987 and 1998 (see below picture).

The latest case was the kidnapping and murder of the Syriac Chaldean Diril couple who went missing in January 2000. The mutilated body of Shmuni Diril was found 2.5 months later near their village of Mehre. Hirmiz Diril has been missing since and there has been no knowledge or trace of his whereabouts.

The Diril drama has a long history. On May 2, 1994, 12-year old İlyas Diril and 16-year-old Zeki Diril, nephews of Şhmuni Diril, were taken into custody on their way from Istanbul to Şırnak. They were never seen again or heard of ever since. The investigation into the disappearance of İlyas and Zeki Diril resulted in non-prosecution after which Zeki Diril’s family applied to the European Court of Human Rights. The Court unanimously ruled that the Turkish state was responsible for the disappearance and condemned the Turkish state.

The list of the Syriacs murdered from 1987 to 1998:

1987 – Habib Ün (Midyat), Aho Erdinç (Arbo), Tumas Behnam (Derik), Bahho Hure (Derik).

1988 – Fehmi Yarar (Midyat).

1990 – Yakup Görgün (Midyat), Gevriye Bulut (Anhel), Sami Bulut (Anhel), Yusuf Aykıl (Arnas), Edibe Aykıl (Arnas), Melke Kahraman (Midyat), Şemun Ünal (Bnebil), Bahhe Akgül (Bnebil), Yusuf Sürer (Bnebil), Celil Büyükbaş (Bnebil).

1991 – Ishak Tahan (Midyat), Ferit Adil (Anhel), Işmuni Adil (Anhel), Mihayel Bayro (Idil).

1992 – Simon Konutgan (İdil), Fikri Akbulut (Midyat), Yakup Yonatan (Kızıltepe), Cırcıs Yüksel (Keleth).

1993 – Aydın (Anhel), Isa Koç (Anhel), Aziz Kalaycı (Anhel), Yusuf Özbakır (Anhel), Gevriye Durmaz (Anhel), Gorgis Savcı (Hah), Georgis Baydar (Idil), Hamdi Şimşek (Şırnak-Bespin (Görümlü)), Hikmet Şimşek (Şırnak-Bespin (Görümlü)), Hanna Aydın (Hah).

1994 Yakup Mete (Midyat), Şükrü Tutuş (İdil), Aziz Çiftçi (Mardin), Eduard Tanrıverdi (Midyat).

1996 – Yusuf Dildar (Hakkari), Garip Marbel Taner (Hakkari), Milad Ishak Yalda (Hakkari), Viya Şoreş Iman (Hakkari), Imal Gevergis Hanna (Hakkari).

1997 – Iskender Aras (Doğançay), Rehane Aras (Doğançay).

1998 – Hanna Adikti (Bespin).