afrinpost– Exclusive
Turkish intelligence forces have arrested a 42-year-old man, identified as Masoud Ismail, from his home in the Old Afrin district of the occupied city of Afrin. Ismail, a member of the Mendo family from the village of Zivingê in the Bulbul district, had recently been demanding the return of his own and his father’s property that had been seized by the Sultan Murad militia, along with local shopkeepers in the city’s market.
Sources suggest that Turkish-backed militias have fabricated charges against Ismail in retaliation for his demands to reclaim his seized properties. In recent months, there have been several cases of Turkish-backed militias targeting civilians who have protested against their occupation and seizure of properties in the Afrin region.
In a related incident, Mahmoud Akeel, a 68-year-old man from the village of Qurnê in the Bulbul district, was arrested several days before Ramadan on charges of dealing with the previous Autonomous Administration of Afrin, after returning from Aleppo on March 16th, 2023. Akeel was reportedly subjected to various forms of torture while being held in the Rajo prison until his release on May 8th, 2023, in exchange for a ransom of $5,500.
