Hürmüz and Şimuni Diril Case: Still no indictment after two years

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Meral Danış-Beştaş, the parliamentary group chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), has submitted a parliamentary question to Minister of Justice Abdullah Gül about a Chaldean couple who went missing two years ago in Şırnak.

"The fate of the case of Hürmüz Diril, who has been missing for exactly two years, and Şimuni Diril, who lost his life, has unfortunately entered a dangerous phase," Danış-Beştaş said in her motion.

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"The fact that an indictment has not been written for two years, that Hürmüz Diril has not yet been found, that Apro Diril, one of the defendants in the case, is constantly arrested and released, and that the indictment was rejected after the deadline revives familiar concerns."

The Diril couple was thought to be kidnapped on January 11, 2020. Şimuni Diril's (65) deceased body was found on March 20, 2020, about 800 meters away from their home in a village in the Syriac village of Mehre (Kovankaya) in Beytüşşebap, Şırnak. Hürmüz Diril (71) is still missing.

Suspicions

"As all the public knows, there has been no effective search operation in the two years since the incident, and there is a possibility that the investigation into the incident will be closed without a conclusion.

"Again, although the forensic report includes information that Şimuni Diril's death occurred as a result of beating, the family has made statements to the press that there was a bullet mark in her back, but this was not included in the forensic medicine report."

On the date when the Şırnak 1st Heavy Penal Court rejected the indictment, the presiding judge of the court visited the governor of Şırnak, Danış-Beştaş also pointed out.

"The fact that the attorneys were informed about the rejection of the indictment and that the indictment was rejected after the deadline and subsequent to its submission on January 4, 2022, raises suspicions regarding the fate of the case," she noted.

She further stated that Apro Diril, a suspect, was arrested on June 23, 2021, released on September 10, 2021, was arrested again on October 2 and was released again on November 1. (EMK/VK)