Daughter of Hurmüz Diril, missing for five years: Our demand for justice is an urgent necessity to be met
In 2011, Chaldean Şimuni and Hurmüz Diril returned to the repeatedly evacuated village of Kovankaya, known in Syriac as "Mehre" in the Beytüşşebap district of Şırnak, and began living an ecologically sound life.
After the last news from them was on January 7, 2020, the couple's son and Pastor of the Chaldean Church in Istanbul, Remzi Diril, went to the village. However, their children never heard from either Hurmüz or Şimuni.
Şimuni, who was 65 at the time, was found dead by her son 70 days later, on March 17, 2020, in a stream near the village. Her children reported finding their mother tortured and murdered, and her bodily integrity gone. Şimuni was buried by her son, Remzil Diril, in the Feriköy Latin Catholic Cemetery.
However, no progress has been made in this process regarding the fate of Hurmüz. Following all these events, a long and “uncertain” process began for Şimuni and Hurmüz's children to seek “justice.”
A year after the incident, on 14 May 2021, the Marta Şimoni Church in the village was attacked by unidentified individuals. Priest Remzil Diril commented on the attack, saying, "We see this attack as a policy of intimidation based on the abduction of our mother and father. This is an act of disrespect and lack of manners; those who did this have no respect for themselves either."
Due to the confidentiality order issued by the Beytüşşebap Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, no information has been obtained regarding the outcome of the prosecution for over a year and a half.
Meanwhile, apart from a few searches conducted in the village, no effective searches were carried out, allegedly due to “weather conditions.” No information about the incident was obtained during this period, except for the statements of the family and neighbour of Apro Diril, the sole eyewitness.
Life sentence after three years
Two years after the incident, the trial began with the acceptance of the indictment prepared by the Şırnak Public Prosecutor's Office in February 2022. Apro Diril, one of the defendants in the case who had been arrested and released numerous times during this period, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the court on July 21, 2023, at the sixth and final hearing for “murder with monstrous feeling or torture” and “premeditated murder.”
However, even though the trial has been completed, no progress has been made regarding Hurmüz's fate for five years. Hurmüz Diril, who was 71 years old in 2020 when he was last heard from, is now 76 years old.
We spoke with Hurmüz's daughter, Gülcan Diril Üzümcü, about the events of the past five years and their demands.
For five years, the fate of your father has not been revealed. What have you been through during this time?
We hoped that everything would come to light in the trial concerning our mother, that the case would be clarified and that our father's fate would be determined. Although our requests were not rejected in court, we did not receive the answers we wanted. The investigation has been incomplete and superficial from the outset. They had no intention of solving the murder. In a village of three people, the killing of two and the survival of one was contrary to the normal course of life. Despite this, they wanted to release Apro Diril several times. It was clear that the power that had used him in this murder was also trying to protect him.
About a month ago, when I went to see the prosecutor in Şırnak, I saw that the file was just sitting on the shelf, unread. It was as if our mother's file and our father's file were separate; the investigation was not being conducted by establishing a connection between the two. During our meetings with the authorities, they received us well and said they were ‘looking into the matter,’ but they are only manipulating us, the family. We need more than just hopeful words; we need concrete facts to be revealed. When we consider this murder together with those who planned it, those who carried it out, those who concealed it, and those who prevented it from coming to light, we can speak of organised evil.
Did the murder of your mother and the disappearance of your father affect the Assyrians and Chaldeans who want to return to their homeland?
For now, I cannot say that there is any impact or fear. But I believe that once this murder is solved, either fear will arise or people will unite and become stronger.
At the same time, one of the murderers is from our community, and the fact that they have the same surname must also lead to self-criticism.
Apro Diril's sentence has been finalised. However, Apro Diril claims he is “innocent.” How do you assess this?
The life sentence he received is a fair decision. Apro Diril knows very well who he got involved with. I say “got involved” because it was a premeditated murder.
When we look at the HTS records, there is someone connected to the murder whose real identity has never been revealed or investigated, and who is registered in his phone as Sabri Diril. When asked about this, he said he did not know, and even his lawyers could not get the truth from him. He has been in contact with this person since August 2019 through a phone line registered under the name “Nazdar H.” Of course, his claim of innocence is not surprising. Given the number of lawyers he has, he is still waiting to be rescued and holding onto hope.
1 July is your father's birthday...
My father's age is one of honour, of a desire to live in unity, of protecting his land and its integrity, of protecting the rights of his fellow villagers even though they live abroad and are not here. My father's age remains 71.
Do you have any requests or calls for action?
I know that several members of our community have easy access to the president and ministries. Even if this issue does not concern them personally, I request that they at least guide us and facilitate a meeting.
Our associations and churches must not give up until this incident is brought to light, and must keep their demands for justice alive by reaching out to the relevant institutions and organisations. If the issue is not discussed and justice is not sought, my father's case will remain on the shelves, gathering dust for years.
This is not an accident, not a natural disaster, not a war. This is a murder, and my father is missing. I refuse to accept its normalisation.
As Syrians, the fulfilment of our demand for justice is not a favour, but an urgent necessity.
Initiatives and legal proceedings for Hurmüz and Şimuni
The Syriacs (Assyrian-Aramaic-Chaldean) have made numerous initiatives for Hurmuz and Shimuni. Thirty-two Syriac and Chaldean organisations, including those from France, Belgium, the United States, Sweden, Australia, and Iraq, sent a letter to Turkey calling for a “serious and effective” investigation into the case of Hurmüz and for an inquiry into the procedural flaws in the Forensic Medicine Institute's report regarding the body of Şimuni, who was found murdered.
The Iraqi Christian Relief Council, another Christian civil society organisation based in Syria, also released a video calling for justice in 12 languages for the location of Hurmüz and Şimuni.
Some members of parliament have submitted parliamentary questions demanding an effective search for Hurmüz and the identification of those responsible for Şimuni's death, bringing the issue to the parliamentary agenda.
The couple's children and relatives have also launched various campaigns on digital media, demanding justice.
The only eyewitness was arrested
While efforts were underway for the Chaldean couple, Apro Diril, a relative and the only eyewitness, was detained and arrested on 23 June 2021 as part of the ongoing investigation. Apro Diril was released on 10 September 2021.
Apro Diril was arrested for the second time on 2 October 2021 and released again on 1 November 2021. He was then arrested once more on 9 November 2021 but released shortly thereafter. During this period, Apro Diril was arrested and released a total of three times.
Three defendants were charged
There was a subsequent development. The indictment prepared by the Şırnak Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was rejected by the court but following an appeal it was accepted by Şırnak 1st Heavy Penal Court in February 2022.
The first hearing of the case against Apro Diril, Behçet Öztunç, and İsmail Yıldız on charges of “murder with savage intent or by inflicting suffering” and “premeditated murder” was held on 19 April 2022.
The couple's children and lawyers were present at the hearing held at the Şırnak 1st Heavy Penal Court. Apro Diril participated in the hearing via the Audio and Visual Information System from the Uludere Courthouse. The hearing was also observed by civil society organisations, legal professionals, politicians, and Evgil Türker, the President of Federation of the Syrian Associations.
The daughter said that the couple had been threatened
During the trial, which began with the identification of the parties, Apro Diril gave his statement. Denying the charges, Apro Diril answered the questions posed to him as “I don't know.” Cemile Kas, one of the couple's children, stated that during phone conversations, her mother had told her, “Apro and his friends are treating us badly. Apro threatened, ‘I won't let you stay in this village.”’
Kas stated that his mother and father had been threatened by Apro 20 days before they went missing, saying, “When I spoke to my mother, she told me that Apro had said to them, ‘If you go missing one day, no one will find you. I will hide you in such a place that no one will find you.’” Kas, who wants his mother and father’s perpetrators to be punished, filed a complaint against the defendants.
Eleonora Diril, one of the couple's daughters, complained about the defendants, saying, “I visited my parents once after they came to the village. While I was there, Apro fired shots at the house. My mother said that they had been threatening them constantly.”
Apro Diril prevented them from going to the police station
The other girls also stated that Apro Diril and her friends constantly threatened their parents, saying that if anything happened to them, Apro and her friends would be responsible. The last to speak was Remzi Diril, priest of the Istanbul Chaldean Church and son of the couple, said "When the incident occurred, I was the first to arrive at the scene. Apro and his friends were identifiying themselves as intelligence officers. When I began the search, Apro said, ‘Someone from the organisation (PKK) took them and they went down there.’ However, when I went down there, I saw no signs of anyone. As I was about to go to the police station, Apro said again, ‘Don’t go; it will come out in a few days.’”
Witnesses were heard
After the statements of family members, Temel Babat, who was listed as a witness in the case file, was heard. Temel, who is in prison for a different crime, stated, ‘It was about two and a half to three months before the incident. Hurmüz came to my house. During our conversation, he said he was afraid that Apro would kill him. He also mentioned that Apro had fired a hunting rifle at him in the village and threatened, ‘I won't let you live until spring.’”
Another witness in the case, Fırat Taşdemir, who is in custody on other charges, did not attend the hearing. After hearing the defendants and witnesses, the prosecutor requested that Apro Diril be remanded in custody. The court ruled that Apro Diril be arrested and adjourned the hearing until 16 June 2022 to allow for the missing information to be provided.
Claim that “a firearm component was found” during the second hearing
The second hearing of the case, which took place on 16 June 2022, was attended by the couple's children and their lawyers, as well as the European Union (EU) Delegation to Turkey and the Dutch Embassy. Nihat Öner, the lawyer representing the Diril family, shared that during a search conducted by the couple's children at the scene of the incident, they found a piece of what they believed to be the butt of a gun belonging to their father.
Öner stated that the investigation conducted earlier had revealed that the weapon belonging to Hurmüz was found in İsmail Yıldız's home and taken to the police custody unit, so he requested that the necessary steps be taken to match the found piece.
The prosecutor then requested that the perpetrator, Apro Diril, be released on judicial control, citing his advanced age and health condition. The court accepted the request submitted by the Diril family's lawyer regarding the evidence and ruled that Apro Diril's detention should continue.
Witness heard in third hearing
In the third hearing held on 29 September 2022, Ahmet Taşdemir, the former deputy commander of the Beytüşşebap District Gendarmerie Station, was heard as a witness. Ahmet Taşdemir, who repeated the statement he had previously given to the prosecution, was asked by the plaintiff's lawyers about his posts on social media. When asked about his posts claiming he had been threatened, he said, “My life is in danger. I do not wish to answer.”
Rojhat Dilsiz, head of the Şırnak Bar Association and the family's lawyer, also stated that witness Ahmet Taşdemir was unable to name those who threatened him and that the investigation into incidents involving public officials had been obstructed. Dilsiz noted that an effective investigation had not been conducted in the case and demanded the arrest of Behçet Öztunç and İsmail Yıldız, who are currently suspects but have not been detained.
Following the defence statements, the prosecution requested the release of Apro Diril, the sole defendant in the case. The court decided to continue Apro Diril's detention in order to hear new witnesses and set the next hearing date for 15 December 2022.
Claim of “confession” from witness at fourth hearing
During the fourth hearing, Kutbettin Tekmenoray, who is in jail in because of a different case, was heard as a witness. Tekmenoray stated that the contents of a petition he had previously submitted to the prosecutor's office were his own, and claimed that Emin Aslan, who was in the same cell with himself, had told him that Apro Diril had killed Şimuni because of a “feud” between them.
The witness Emin Aslan, who was detained in the same cell as Tekmenoray, could not be heard because another person was brought in due to an error in identifying him.
The lawyer representing the Diril family, Rojhat Dilsiz, stated that this was not an ordinary murder case and that serious evidence had been concealed since the investigation began.
“Intelligence information” defence
The defence lawyers also stated in their defence that their client, Apro Diril, worked alongside the “law enforcement” forces and claimed that the telephone conversations he had with the Diril couple were conducted within the framework of “intelligence information”.
Apro Diril's statement, “I have one God, one Turkish state. I respect the law. All of this is slander and fabrication. I have no connection to this incident; I demand my release,” drew significant backlash.
Family’s lawyers presented to the court a photograph showing Apro Diril attacking Şimuni's home with a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. The court ruled to continue Apro Diril's detention and to gather further evidence, postponing the hearing until 3 February 2023.
In the fifth hearing, the witness recounted Apro Diril's confession
In the fifth hearing, Emin Aslan, who was detained and shared the same cell with Apro Diril, was heard as a witness.
Emin Aslan said that Apro Diril told him that he had killed Şimuni: “Apro Diril and I were in the same cell. We were together for about four to five months. I asked him, ‘Why are you in prison?’ He started telling me. He said they found three separate graves. ‘I went with Hurmüz and Cemil Usta. My intention was not to share the grave with them, but to kill them,’ he said. He said he still harbours resentment towards them because of the death of his 16-year-old son. First, he struck Şimuni on the head with a piece of wood. Hurmüz tried to save himself, but then they shot him too. He said he fired two shots. He said both of them died at the scene. They then threw Şimuni into the water. They also buried Hurmüz. He said they then left the area. I told him, ‘Fingerprints will be found during the autopsy.’ He replied, ‘I will offer money to the Gendarmerie and Forensic Medicine to have the evidence erased.’ He said that he committed the murder together with Cemil Usta. I felt remorse, so I came here to tell you about it. He was going to destroy the autopsy report, so I decided to tell you.”
Apro Diril claimed that these statements were “defamatory.” The prosecutor then requested that the defendant remain in custody on suspicion of escape.
Apro Diril was released on house arrest
Rojhat Dilsiz, one of the lawyers representing the Diril family, stated that the investigation had not been conducted properly from the outset, saying that the witness had spoken in line with the case file, and requested that Apro Diril remain in custody. However, the court ruled that Apro Diril should be released on house arrest.
Lawyer Rojhat Dilsiz filed an appeal against the decision on the same day. Dilsiz, who shared updates on his digital media account, stated, “We filed an appeal on the same day. The prosecutor also filed an appeal. As a result of the appeal, as of yesterday (4 February 2023), he was re-arrested by the High Criminal Court.”
Life imprisonment sentence handed down
At the sixth and final hearing of the trial, the court sentenced the defendant Apro Diril, who was in custody, to life imprisonment for “murder with savage intent or by inflicting suffering” and “premeditated murder,” and acquitted Behçet Öztunç and İsmail Yıldız.
Apro Diril has been in custody at the prison to which he was sent since that date.
(Translation: Deniz Tuna)
