Afrin... ARK documents 416 arrests of Kurdish civilians

ARK News... ARK has documented hundreds of cases of arbitrary detention by armed factions in Afrin city center and its seven towns and villages in Syrian Kurdistan since the beginning of this year, starting from January until last August 2022.

According to ARK's documentation, 413 Kurdish civilians were arrested in the city center and towns, Rajo, Mabata, Jenderes, Shara, Bulbul, Sherawa Shiye, its villages, and most of the releases were made by paying ransoms.

The list is as follows by month:

1- January: 31 detainees
2- February: 63 detainees
3- March: 65 detainees
4- April: 35 detainees
5- May: 51 detainees
6- June: 49 detainees
7- July: 31 detainees
8- August: 61 detainees

Local sources and activists confirm that the usual accusation of Kurdish civilians is to go on guard duty or work in the administration of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). Despite their settlement and payment of ransom, civilians are liable to arrest at any moment on the same charge.

In a statement issued on September 2, 2022, the Kurdish National Council in Syria called on the international community and human rights organizations to intervene to stop these groups from committing crimes against humanity and the environment and its nature of tampering and systematic destruction at the hands of these gangs.

It also called on the National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces to carry out their national and moral duty towards what is happening in Afrin, condemn these heinous crimes that reflect hatred and revenge and work to stop them immediately and bring the perpetrators to court to receive their just punishment.

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