The case of the unidentified remains discovered alongside the bones of 70 other missing persons from Assia, remains shrouded in mystery.
The identity of these remains has not been established, not only within the Assia community but also among the total missing persons from the 1974 Turkish invasion.
Notably, the identification of another DNA profile, which remains inconclusive, adds to the complexity of the situation.
The aforementioned details were presented in an informational memo submitted by Georgios Ioannou, the Mukhtar of Assia, before the parliamentary committee on Refugees and Missing Persons, on behalf of the Assia Community Council and the Committee of Relatives of the Missing Persons of Assia.
Despite approximately 13 years passing since the discovery of the bones and the efforts made by the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), the identification remains elusive.
The question of how the unidentified remains ended up in a mass grave seemingly unrelated to other victims of the Turkish invasion, particularly in the area of Ornithi in occupied Afania, remains unanswered.
Relatives of the Assia missing persons continue to press for the identification of all the bones retrieved from the wells where they were thrown.
The memo also includes the following updates on the investigation into the fate of the Assia missing persons:
“Unknown DNA profiles and the discovery of an unidentified individual’s identity in April 2022 among the bones found in Ornithi. We were informed in a meeting on April 8, 2022, at the office of the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Fotis Fotiou, in the presence of Leonidas Pantelides and other officials, about the identification of an unknown profile among the bones in the Anthropological Laboratory. During our last meeting on April 11, 2023, with Mr. Leonidas Pantelides, he informed us that there has been no identification of the profile with any person from the known group arrested in Assia on August 21, 1974, or any other missing person from 1974. The case has been pending since 2010 when the excavations in Ornithi were completed. Also, the identification of another DNA profile from that time remains unresolved.”
According to the memo, the Committee of Assia Residents had not received any new information regarding the case until November 21, 2023. Yesterday, we asked Giannos Dimitriou, a member of the Committee of Assia Residents, who stated to Phileleftheros that no new developments have emerged regarding the unknown profiles.
The memo further reports that, following the discovery of an unknown profile among the bones, the CMP decided to gradually send additional bones from the Anthropological Laboratory for identification using DNA analysis.
Mr. Pantelides informed the relatives that, by the last meeting, a total of 1,030 bones had been sent in three separate shipments.
These bones were part of the total 2,040 selected for examination.
According to the memo, Mr. Pantelides informed the representatives of the relatives of the Assia missing persons that no other unknown DNA profiles had been identified among the bones already examined.
The process is expected to be completed by 2024.
As for the fate of the Assia missing persons, Giannos Dimitriou had previously reported that a group of 70 civilians arrested in Assia on August 21, 1974, was initially taken to Garaz Pavlides. Subsequently, this group was executed in Ornithi, and the victims were thrown into two wells.
The excavation of the remains took place between 2008 and 2009, concluding in early 2010.
After the analysis of the bones, it became apparent that the two graves had been systematically disturbed, evidenced by the violation of the wells.
At that time (after the removal of most of the bones), a small number of skeletons were found inside bags, while the rest were fragments or small pieces.
Based on the findings, 68 individuals from the group of 70 executed were identified.
