afrinpost– Exclusive
Special sources have informed “afrinpost” that Turkish authorities are detaining several elderly detainees from the native Kurdish population of Afrin and subjecting them to torture in the Rajo police prison, which is controlled by the military police militia in the occupied countryside of Afrin.
The sources added that the military police militia arrested Mahmoud Akeel (68 years old) from the village of Qurnê, located in the sub-district of Bulbul, a few days before Ramadan, on charges of dealing with the former Autonomous Administration in Afrin, after returning from Aleppo on March 16, 2023.
He remained in Rajo prison until he was released on May 8th, after paying a financial ransom of five thousand and five hundred dollars.
Sources further revealed that Mahmoud Akeel was subjected to various forms of torture in prison, and most Kurdish detainees in the prison are elderly and all are subjected to torture.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported in a report published on February 12, 2022, citing a special source, that the military police militia in the Rajo practices the harshest violations against prisoners, including blackmail, torture, and humiliation, including denying food and forcing prisoners to buy it at multiple times the prices outside the prison.
The source stated that “the prison includes a dormitory for men with about 60 prisoners, and a dormitory for women with 53 women, including people with special needs, minors, and the elderly,” confirming that most of the detainees are civilians.
The majority of them were arrested without any charge or with false charges, such as leaving for Turkey or dealing with the former self-administration, and they remain imprisoned for months until they are presented to the judge, who decides to release them the next day after paying a ransom of several thousand dollars.
