Young Shiraz Sabri Nebo was arrested as he entered Syria on returning from Turkey
Media Institute of Western Kurdistan Society reports that security services arrested young Shiraz Sabri Nebo on 26 September 2010 after he returned from Turkey. His family have been given no information regarding his whereabouts, nor the reason for his arrest. It is reported that Shiraz Sabri Nebo’s father and brother were arrested against the background of the events of Newroz in al-Raqqa, and they remain in detention.
Dozens of Kurdish detainees were arrested after the events of Newroz, and their whereabouts are not clear. Some are detained in Adra prison, and others are in Fayhaa Branch of political security in Damascus. Their families are not allowed to visit to ensure that they are OK. Responsibility for this situation is on the shoulders of the Syria authorities, but the authorities are ignoring this conspiracy in al-Raqqa that has been orchestrated to target Kurdish citizens celebrating Newroz. Read more
Kurdish student Havraz Hassan is released after 9 months detention in Syria
According to Kurdish Organization for Defending Human Rights and Public Freedoms in Syria – DAD, Havraz Mohammed Amin Hassan, a student from Gerke Lege, in the Qamishli area of Syria was released on 25 September 2010. He had been arrested on 14 December 2009.
Lord Hylton raised his case in the UK Houses of Parliament on 9 February 2010. Read more
Kurdish activist Abdelkarim Hussein was released and has applied for asylum to UNHCR in Turkey
According to Gemyakurda.net, a website that focuses on Kurdish news in Arabic language, Kurdish activist Abdelkarim Hussein was released on 2 September 2010 after an order was made prohibiting him from leaving Syria unless he has the consent of Political Security in Aleppo.
Abdelkarim Hussein was told that he must report to Political Security in Aleppo within 24 of his release however his family feared he would be detained again like Khaled Kengo, who was rearrested by the State Security Branch in Qamishli. Abdelkarim Hussein managed to leave Syria secretly, and fled to Turkey across the border, arriving on 8 September 2010 where he applied to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for international protection.
Abdelkarim Hussein had been forcibly removed from Norway on 19 August 2010 and was arrested at Damascus International Airport. He was transferred to the Political Security Branch in Damascus. There were calls from civil society and human rights organizations in Syria and Norway not to deport him for fear of being arrested, but the Norwegian authorities continued to forcibly deported him to Syria. Read more
Turkey: Leyla Zana Sentenced to 3 Years Imprisonment
Thursday, 08 April 2010
Northern Kurdistan- Diyarbakir: the final trail of the Kurdish female politician Leyla Zana was ended on Thursday morning. The Diyarbakir Court sentenced her to 3 years imprisonment for supporting the Kurdistan Worker Party (PKK).
In a speech, Leyla Zana had praised Abdullah Ocalan for his tireless work for the Kurdish causes and announced him as the Kurdish national leader. She also stated that if Erdogan is intending to solve the Kurdish issue he should take Ocalan as the interlocutor and instead of travelling to Diyarbakir he should visit Ocalan in his solitary confinement in the Island of Imrali Prison. Read more
An update of releases and arrests of Kurds in Syria – March 2010
According to DAD, on 11 March 2010, the Syrian Court of Causation rejected the appeal of the members of the leading committee of the Kurdish Azadi Party:
- Mustafa Jum’ah
- Mohammad Sa’id ‘Omar
- Sa’dun Sheikhu Read more
Demonstration to support Berivan – London, 12 March 2010
Join the demonstration in front of Turkish Embassy to raise your voice against jailing of Berivan, a 15 year Kurdish girl, who was recently jailed for 8 years for allegedly throwing stones at armoured Police vehicle in a demonstration.
The conviction highlights Turkey’s practice of jailing children for terror-related offences under counter-terrorism legislation introduced in 2006. The law allows courts to try juveniles as adults and to jail them for up to 50 years. There are over 2,600 minors in Turkish prisons for offences such as throwing stones at the police, chanting slogans and making the victory sign in demonstrations. Berivan was mistaken for a demonstrator when she was walking on the road.
Berivan recently wrote in a letter to her solicitor:
“This place is such a difficult place, even if I tried to explain how much I can’t….They hit me a lot…They put this cream on my legs to cover the bruises so no one can see them. I don’t know why they treated me like this. I’m only 15, I never deserved this place. No one deserves this place. I am very upset here…I miss my family so much.”
On behalf of Berivan’s Mother and all Mother’s of Children in Turkish Jails we are going to protest near to Mother’s Day outside the Turkish Embassy in London and hand in petitions calling for the immediate release of these children.
Please join and help to build this demo. We can’t destroy our future by keeping silent today!!
Friday 12th March 2010
Time: 1430-1600
Outside Turkish Embassy
43 Belgrave Square London SW1X 8PA (nearest tube Hyde Park Corner)
Free Berivan Campaign.
For info contact: hevallo@gmail.com
Three Kurds arrested in Syria
Syrian authorities from the Political Security Branch in Rakka arrested three citizens on 17 January 2010:
- Sheikh Ahmed Hamou
- Mohammed Sheikh Mohammed
- Ez al-Din Sheikhi Mustafa
These three citizens are still in the custody of the Branch, but their families have no information about the reason for their arrest, or the charges against them. One of the detainees, Sheikh Ahmed Hamou has chronic inflammation of the chest, and it is understood that his health has deteriorated because of the poor conditions of detention.
Media Institute of Western Kurdistan Federation
2 February 2010
Two more political arrests in Syria
According to Syrian Committee for Human Rights – MAD in Aleppo, Munira Hammo, born in 1967 in Arshqibar, Afrin was arrested by Political Security in Aleppo. She is the mother of six children and now lives in Aleppo. She was arrested at the time of the anniversary celebrations of the Kurdish Women “Union Star” organisation.
Syrian Committee for Human Rights – MAD, Aleppo
31 January 2010
Kenjo was subjected to torture while in custody
On January 19, 2010, Xalid Mio Kenco fled across the border from Syria to Turkey illegally. He filed a petition for asylum at the UNHCR in Ankara, which is to be decided upon by April 7 of this year. Kenco is permitted to remain in Turkey until then.
In a telephone conversation with KurdWatch on January 28, 2010, Kenco stated that during his initial detention in al-Qamishli he was held in a solitary cell for seven days. The cell was so small that he was unable to stretch out to sleep. It was completely dark so that he could not tell the difference between his water bottle and the bottle he was given to urinate in. He was only allowed to leave his cell once a day to defecate. Members of the State Security interrogated him for a total of four days. During all of the interrogations, he was blindfolded and his hands were cuffed behind his back. He was berated and slapped, and his feet and other parts of his body were beaten with cables. He was also blindfolded, handcuffed and beaten during the ensuing two-day interrogation by the State Security in Damascus. Read more
Call to Action: KURDISH POLITICAL ACTIVISTS DETAINED IN SYRIA
January 27, 2010 by sks
Filed under News, Support Kurds, Syria
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Four Kurdish political activists were detained on 26 December in Syria, and have been held incommunicado since then. They are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Hassan Saleh, Muhammad Ahmed Mustafa and Ma’rouf Mulla Ahmed – all senior members of the unauthorized Syrian Kurdish Yeketi Party in Syria – and Anwer Naso, also a member of the Yeketi Party, were arrested on 26 December by members of Political Security, one of Syria’s security agencies. Political Security regularly detains individuals perceived as opposing or being critical of the Syrian regime. Their detention came around three weeks after the men attended a Yeketi Party conference that called for autonomy in the Kurdish areas in Syria. Read more
