Apro Diril arrested again over the disappearance of Chaldean couple

* Source: Mezopotamya Agency (MA)

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Arrested and released before as part of the same investigation, Apro Diril has been arrested again over the disappearance of Chaldean couple Hurmüz and Şimoni Diril in Turkey's southeast in 2020.

In the trial over the disappearance of the couple in the Kovankaya village in Şırnak's Beytüşşebap district on July 11, 2020, the first hearing was held at the Şırnak 1st High Criminal Court today (April 19).

* Photo: Mezopotamya Agency (MA)

Apro Diril attended via video conference

As reported by Mezopotamya Agency (MA), the first hearing was attended by the children and lawyers of the Diril couple. Defendant Apro Diril attended the hearing from the Uludere Courthouse in another district of Şırnak via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS).

Among the ones who followed the hearing were Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Şırnak MPs Hasan Özgüneş and Hasan Kaçmaz, Federation of Syriac Associations Chair Evgil Türker, Mardin MP Tuma Çelik, Şırnak Bar Chair Rojhat Dilsiz and Urfa Vice Bar Chair Fazilet Taştan.

'He threatened my parents'

Rejecting the accusations, defendant Apro Diril did not answer the questions, saying, "I don't know." Cemile Kas, the daughter of the missing couple, took the floor after Apro Diril and said that she lives in France and used to talk to her mother on the phone frequently.

Referring to one of these phone calls with her deceased mother, Cemile Kas said that her mother had said to her, "Apro and his friends treat us badly. Apro threatened us, saying, 'I will not let you live in this village'."

Kas underlined that 20 days before her parents got missing, they had been threatened by Apro Diril. She said:

"When I talked to my mother, she said that Apro told them, 'If you get missing one day, no one will be able to find you. I will hide you in such a way that no one will be able to find you'." Kas requested that the perpetrators of the incident be penalized and pressed charges against the defendants.

Eleonora Diril, also a daughter of the couple, said, "After my mother and father came to the village, I visited them once. When I was there, Apro shot at the house once. My mother said that they were constantly threatening them." She also pressed charges against the defendants.

'Don't go; they will show up in a fews days'

The couple's other daughter Emine Diril also noted that Apro Diril and his friends were constantly threatening the couple and she said that if something happened to her parents, they would be responsible for it.

Taking the floor last, Remzi Diril, the Priest of the İstanbul Chaldean Church and the son of the Diril couple, said:

"When the incident happened, I first went there. Apro and his friends were posing like intelligence officers. When I began making search efforts, Apro said, 'some people from the organization called them and they went downhill.' But when I went there and took a look at it, I saw that there was no human trace. While I was going to the [police] station upon seeing this, Apro said, 'Don't go; they will show up somewhere in a few days'."

Following the statements of the Diril family, Temel Babat, one of the witnesses, was heard at court. In prison on a different charge, Babat said:

"It was 2.5 or 3 months before the incident. Hurmüz came to my house. When we talked back then, he said that he was afraid Apro was going to kill him. He also said that Apro fired at him with a hunting rifle and threatened him, saying, 'I will not let you live till spring'."

Fırat Taşdemir, also arrested on another charge, did not attend the hearing. The prosecutor requested that Apro Diril be arrested.

The court board has ruled that Apro Diril shall be arrested and adjourned the trial until June 16 for the rectification of deficiencies.

What happened?

72-year-old Hurmüz Diril and his 65-year-old spouse Şimoni Diril, living in the Syriac village of Mehre (Kovankaya) in Beytüşşebap district of southeastern Şırnak province, went missing on January 11, 2020.

Of the Chaldean couple, the deceased body of Şimuni Diril was found by her children some 800 meters away from the village on March 20, 2020, 70 days after they had gone missing. The fate and whereabouts of Hurmüz Diril are still unknown. (AÖ/SD)