Turkey: Only detainee in unsolved missing and murder case of Syriac Chaldean Diril couple released

MAHRE, Turkey – The only detainee in the unsolved murder and disappearance case of Syriac Chaldean couple Hurmuz and Şhmuni Diril has been released. According to news outlet Gazete Karinca, Apro Diril, a relative of the retired couple and only fellow villager of Mahre in Turkey’s Kovankaya district (Şırnak), was released on September 10.

Apro Diril was arrested on June 23, 2021, with two others as part of the investigation into the disappearance the Diril couple in January 2020 and the murder of Shmuni Diril. The other two detainees were released on parole soon after their detention and questioning by the police. Apro Diril was placed under arrest but has now also been released.

The Turkish state has classified the missing and murder investigation as confidential and is not making any public statements in the case.

Also Read: Syriac Member of Turkish Parliament Çelik demands disclosure of fate of Diril family

Having disappeared under mysterious circumstances on 11 January 2020, the mutilated body of Shmuni Diril was found by one of her sons on 20 March, 2020, in a stream near their village of Mahre. Her body had been covered by snowfall and wasn’t visible during previous searches. The state of her body indicated she had been dead for some time. Hurmuz Diril (71) has been missing since and nothing is known about his whereabouts.

Mahre was among the first villages to experience state-forced evacuation in the 1990s. The disappearance of the Syriac Chaldean couple and the murder of aunt Shmuni Diril is the latest in a long family drama of forced eviction by the state from their ancient village and the disappearance of aunt Shmuni’s nephews Zeki (16) and Elyas Diril (12) who disappeared while in Turkish police custody. A report by Amnesty International, dated 31 July 1994, documents the concern about the “disappearance” of two Diril boys, revealing there were reports of ill-treatment, torture and extrajudicial execution faced by the villagers at the time.

Normal insanlar yok edilmek istendi, ses yok. Bu devletin yöneticileride yok oldular bu yüzden ses vermiyorlar. Devlet öldü, ses vermiyor. https://t.co/TjiJ0mkdXi

— Kino Nahiro (@KNahiro) August 23, 2021