International Christian Concern | March 21, 2020
Two months after the mysterious disappearance of the elderly parents of a Chaldean Catholic priest in Turkey, tragic news for the family came this week after days of searching. The mother, Simoni Diril, was found deceased on March 20, 2020. The whereabouts of the father, Hurmuz Diril, remain unknown.
The disappearance of the elderly couple is attributed to an abduction by PKK members. A search conducted in the early days of their disappearance was massively hindered by winter weather. An investigation into their disappearance remain ongoing.
The couple was abducted from the village of Mehr, a historically Assyrian Christian village that has been repeatedly caught in the crosshairs of various conflicts. The village had previously been evacuated in 1989 and 1992 because of the conflict between the PKK and Turkish army. Ten years ago, the Diril couple had returned to the village despite the dangers in an attempt to rebuild. Their son, Father Adday Ramzi Diril, is a Chaldean Catholic priest based in Istanbul, known internationally for his pastoral care of 7,000 Iraqi Christian refugees displaced in Turkey.