According to the Bianet’s article reporting on the issue on 9th August 2014, Hüseyin Saçaklıdır was a municipal assembly member representing the Refah Party (The Welfare Party). On the morning of 11th August 1996, per usual, Hüseyin Saçaklıdır left home for work with his brother Hasan, but did not return home much to the worry of his family, who submitted a petition to the Silvan Public Prosecutor’s Office. However, no action was taken on the petition for the next four years. On 17th August 1996, the brothers’ car was found abandoned near a police point at the Dicle Faculty of Medicine, but an effective investigation was not carried out beyond basic preliminary police work. The family’s application to the Prime Minister’s office was turned down citing lack of sufficient information. The family has made many applications to various government agencies and legal bodies, all to no avail.

After a mass grave was unearthed in İçkale, at a former prison site known as JİTEM headquarters, family members of the missing brothers applied to the Human Rights (İHD) for legal aid in order to have the discovered bones tested for identification.