YASA monthly report September 2009

Content:
• Kurdish student arrested at the Iraqi-Syrian border
• Another Kurdish conscript of the Syrian army dead
• Arrest because of the possession of a Kurdish party’s flyer
• Forced displacement of a family in Rumylan
• Lawyer not allowed leaving the country
• The fate of a Kurd deported from Germany remains
• Kurdish activists handed over to military court
• Long prison sentences for Kurdish activists
• Death of a Kurdish imprisoned

Kurdish student arrested at the Iraqi-Syrian border
On August, 10th 2009 the student Sivan Abdul Allatif was kidnapped by Syrian security forces in
Syria after his visit in Iraq and brought to an unknown place.
Sivan Abdul Allatif was a student at the Philosophic Faculty at the University of Damascus.
During the occurrences of March, 12th 2004 he was held for using the internet and was
exmatriculated. In order to continue his studies he traveled to Kurdistan-Iraq after his release.
Sivan Abdul Allatif is completely cut off from the outside world. His fate is unknown until today.
Another Kurdish conscript of the Syrian army dead
The dead body of the Kurdish recruit Arif Ahmad Omar- born in the village Mamala in the district Afrat Mohammad Felek Naz Khalil Rajo in 1988- was delivered to his family in Jul 2009. The recruit did his military service at the 116 the brigade of the Syrian army. The superiors of the young dead recruit told his family that he died in consequence of an electric shock. After the delivery of the dead body the relatives discovered marks of torture on the body, for instance deep injuries on the head, which were bonded in order to
cover up marks of violence.
As is known 28 Kurdish recruits have died under mysterious circumstances in the Syrian army
since March 2004.
Arrest because of the possession of a Kurdish party´s flyer
On Friday, September 11th 2009 the Kurd Mahmmud Zuber Mahmmud was arrested by a patrol of
the Syrian security forces in Qamishli (in the north-east of Syria) in the district AL-Hilaliya. He
was accused of being in possession of an flyer of the Democratic Kurdish Party ( Al Party). After
his arrestment a patrol of the syrian security forces ransacked his father’s house, found and
confiscated CDs and other materials with contents of Kurdish folklore and culture. After the
searching the father and Abdul Wahaab Schekhmous Al Fares were arrested, too. Until today the
fate of these three arrested men is unknown.
Forced displacement of a family in Rumylan
On August, 31st 2009 the management of the “Syrian Petroleum Company”, which manages the
oilfield of Rumylan, proceeded, supported by the police, against Muhammad Saed Omer´s family.
Muhammad Saed Omer and his family were forced to leave their house and were expelled form
their residence.
Muhammad Sayed Omer is an emploee of the Mineral Oil Company and leading member of the
kurdish Azadi Party. He lived with his family in a flat, which was made available for the
company’s employees. Mister Omer wasn´t able to go to work after his arrestment by the Syrian
security forces. Despite the management knowing these circumstances they arranged the eviction
of the flat by the police. Since August, 26th 2009 Muhammad Sayed Omer has been in custody by
the security forces.
Lawyer not allowed leaving the country
The Kurdish centre of Legal Studies and Consultations YASA e.V. learned through reliable
sources * that the lawyer Abdull Salam Shaker was forbidden to continue his planned visit to
Turkey by the Syrian security authorities in the border town of Qamishlo-Nassybin. He was
requested to audition in front of the security forces’ division No. 5/235 known as Palestine
Department of military security in Damascus.
*For safety reasons and to protect the reporters on the spot, the sources were not identified by
name.
The fate of a Kurd deported from Germany remains unknown
The Kurdish-Syrian citizen Khaled Kenjo was transferred from a security services prison in the
city Qamishlo to an unknown place in the capital Damascus. Since then the relatives of the
imprisoned Kurdish have been trying in vain to find out the new place of conveyance of their son
from the security forces. It was always communicated to the relatives that their son had been
transferred to Damascus. The name of the security department in the capital, where Khaled Kenjo
is held on, was not communicated to the relatives.
It should be noted that on September, 1st 2009 Khaled Kenjo was deported by the German
authorities to Syria based on the repatriation agreement signed between the Federal Republic of
Germany and Syria from 2008.
Kurdish activists handed over to military court
The military prosecution in Aleppo handed out Felek Khalil, Afrat Mohammad und Mohammad
Khalil to the Military court in Qamishilo. The three persons were arrested in the “Zugra-district” in
Damascus. They were accused of being member of a forbidden organization pursuant to article
288 of the Syrian penal code. Rojin Remo was also handed out to the military court. As we
reported before, Rojin Remo was arrest by the Syrien security forces on July, 29th 2009. Also she is
accused of having violated article 288 of the Syrian penal code.
Long prison sentences for Kurdish activists
The Supreme Security Court has opened a trial against several persons. The affected persons are:
-Shukri Khaled Omer, born 1988, arrested since December 19th, 2006
-Safqan Rashid Khlo, born 1990, arrested since February 19th, 2006
-Rashid Rashid Khlo, born 1958, arrest since February 19th, 2006
-Jeger Shekho born 1989
-Ferhad Mohammad Mohammad
The defendants will be sentenced according to the articles 267, 288 and 308 of the Syrian penal
code.

Three other persons were sentenced to prison on the same trial. Two of them are accused of being
members of the forbidden Kurdish party “The Kurdish-Arab Brotherhood”. They said that the
party’s goal is to separate one part of the Syrian land and to incorporate it a foreign nation. The two
persons were sentenced to 8 years prison and forced labour. The basis of the sentence is article 267
of the Syrian penal code. In addition to that, Mustafa Rashid Silfo was sentenced to 6 years prison.
Death of a Kurdish imprisoned
Authorities informed the parents of the Kurdish Khoshnav Sulyman about the death of their son
who was in the “Saydnaya” prison. The military prosecution acknowledged the death of Koshnav
Sulyman through an official death certificate on March 31st, 2009. However, the Syrian authorities
remain silent about the exact cause of death. The burial place is also unknown.
Khoshnav Sulyman had been arrested by the Syrian security forces after he came back to Syria
after graduation of his pharmacy studies in Moscow. He was accused of being a member of the
Kurdish labour party before starting his studies in Moscow