Afrinpost
“Syrians for Truth and Justice ” organisation said in a report ,that Afrinpost followed up, that the Islamic militias, or the so-called “National Army of the Syrian Interim Government / affiliated with the Syrian opposition coalition ” have increased the frequency of arbitrary arrests in the Kurdish region of Afrin. During September 2019, 127 people were documented by name and full information, including 17 women and children, some of them were transferred to central prisons, 70 of them were released, while the fate of 57 detainees / kidnappers remains unknown at the time of writing and publication of its report issued today. Considering that this toll is the highest in the last four months in Afrin region alone, Syrians for Truth and Justice documented the arrest and detention of 80 people in August 2019, 63 in July 2019, and 56 in June 2019.
The organization confirmed that the kidnappings “arrests / detentions” which took place in September 2019,In a small number of them, it targeted mainly those who had previously joined the “self-defense duty” imposed by the self-administration during its control of the area, as well as a number of indigenous women, where 17 women and children were arrested. It warns of further local tensions and discontent against Turkish factions and the occupying forces, noting that a good part of the kidnappings / arrests were for financial purposes, as many young people were re-arrested for more than twice and were asked to pay a ransom for their release, despite their possession of the documents proving the payment of bail at least once.
The organization mentioned that the “Military Police” and the “Civil Police” militias were responsible for carrying out the kidnappings / arrests, while the so-called “Political Security” and “Al-Jabha Al-Shamiyeh”, “Sultan Suleiman Shah”, “Sultan Murad”, “Samarkand”, “Waqas” , “Ahrar al-Sharqiya”,and “Hamzah” militants were responsible for carrying out the other part of the abductions / arrests.
The organization expressed concern that this escalation in kidnappings / arrests coincides with the olive harvest season, in order to blackmail residents to pay money and force them to provide a share of the crop in return for not being subjected to arrest or kidnapping.
The Syrians for Truth and Justice confirmed that abductions / “arrests and detentions” were carried out in an arbitrary manner and did not take due account of most of the due process, and many detainees / abductees relatives were not informed of the charges against them duly or orally during the arrest / kidnapping. Contrary to statements by the former National Army militia leader, he claimed that abductions / arrests were conducted within the legal framework.
The human rights organization documented the registration of 51 cases of abduction, including a woman in the center of Afrin, the kidnapping was practiced by the militia “Military Police”, which was responsible for the abduction of 48 of them, while the so-called “Political Security Branch” kidnapped two people and the militia of “Al-Shamal Brigade ” kidnapped one person.
In “Shieh / Sheikh al-Hadid”, three raids and kidnappings were carried out by “Al-Waqqas” and “Sultan Suleiman Shah / Amshat ” militias, which resulted in the abduction of 13 people.
In “Bulbule / Bulbul” district, five civilians were abducted by the “Civil Police” militia in the village of “Khudrya / Khudrianli” on charges of joining the self-defense and belonging to the protection units (YPG), and they are still missing.
In “Mobata / Ma’batli” district, ” Jabhat Al-Sham” , “Al-Shamal Brigade” and the Civil Police militia abducted eight persons, including a woman and a child, for unknown reasons.
In “Raju”, the Civil Police militia abducted 11 people in several villages in Raju district on various charges including joining the self-defense and belonging to local councils (communes) that existed during the self-administration era.
On the other hand, in Jenderes district, several abductions were carried out by “the military police”, the civilian police, “Ahrar al-Sharqiya” and “Samarkand brigade” during September, affecting 16 people, most of whom were released.
In “Shara / Sharan” ,militias of the “Military Police”, the “Civil Police” and “Sultan Murad Brigade” kidnapped 23 people in September, including 8 women and a girl.
