SELÇUK AND ASKER JUDGMENT OF 24 APRIL 1998 6 They submitted that the applicants’ homes and possessions were destroyed by the PKK, which purported to replace the State in the region, as a punishment and a warning, since the villagers generally had good relations with the security forces. The two applicants in particular were law-abiding citizens with no history of anti-governmental activity. At the time of the events in question, Mr Asker’s son was doing his military service, an activity which the PKK urged the people in the region to avoid, and Mrs Selçuk had one son in the army and another in the civil service. 19. The Government questioned whether Mrs Selçuk’s mill was burned at all, but if it was, denied that this was done by security forces. 20. They further disputed that Mr Asker lodged any petition with the Kulp District Governor, since he could not produce any acknowledgment of receipt and no such petition was registered in the records. D. Proceedings before the domestic authorities 21. Following the communication of the applications by the Commission to the Government on 15 April 1994, it appears that the Ministry of Justice (International Law and External Relations General Directorate) contacted the Principal Public Prosecutor’s office in Diyarbakır, which in turn wrote to the Public Prosecutor’s office in Kulp on 4 May 1994, enquiring whether the applicants had made any complaint and requesting that an investigation be initiated if they had not. 22. Since no petitions from the applicants could be traced, the Kulp public prosecutor opened investigation file 1994/57. On 11 May 1994, he requested the Kulp gendarmerie to ascertain the applicants’ whereabouts and to invite them to come and see him as soon as possible and on 18 May 1994 he wrote to the District Governor asking whether any petition had been filed by Mr Asker. By letter dated 26 May 1994, Gendarme Captain Ali Ergulmez replied, on behalf of the District Governor, that an examination of the records disclosed that no complaint had been filed by Mr Asker. 23. Mr Asker made a statement to the public prosecutor on 20 June 1994 and Mrs Selçuk made one on 21 June 1994. 24. On 18 August 1994, the public prosecutor sent a request to the district gendarmerie commander for information to be given promptly as to whether an operation led by CO Cömert had been carried out at İslamköy on 16 June 1993 and whether the applicants’ houses had been burned by those units.