There is concern at the “disappearance” of two brothers, Zeki Ercan Diril and Ilyas Edip Diril, after they were detained by security forces on 19 May 1994 while travelling to their village of Kovankaya, Hakkari province. On or about 4 June 1994 Kovankaya, an Assyro-Chaldean Catholic village, was burned and the villagers, some of whom were beaten, were forcibly evicted to the village of Cevizagac near the town of Beytussebab. Hurmuz Diril, an elder of the village, who tried to make inquiries about the two brothers and to complain about the eviction was arrested and is now held in Beytussebab prison. Forty members of the Diril family are now being held under house arrest in Cevizagac although they have not been charged with any offence and the reason for their detention is unclear. While they have not reported ill-treatment, food is reportedly in short supply and there is concern for their health.
