Financial blackmail…another violation by the Syrian National Army of the rights of detainees in Northern Syria

Yamin Al-Khalid – Editing (M.J.-B-S)
Translated by: Hejar Abo

The armed Syrian opposition factions (Syrian National Army), loyal to the Turkish occupation, since the invasion of areas in the countryside of Aleppo and support of Turkey in occupying areas in Northern, North and East Syria, have adopted a policy of displacement and demographic change, a policy of arbitrary arrests, and placing civilians in its prisons, and the most prominent violations occur in areas of Afrin and its environs, which witness the spread of dozens of known and secret prisons. Many leaders of the armed factions invest in these prisons, to earn money from the detainees’ families, by blackmailing them and using many methods to steal their money in addition to the methods of torture.

Syrian National Army prisons, crime and exploitation of the issue of detainees
Aso News Network obtained information from private sources from the prisons of the armed factions loyal to the Turkish occupation (the Syrian National Army) in the northern countryside of Aleppo, where there are many prisons in the areas of northern Syria occupied by the factions that are known for their cruelty in the treatment of detainees, and their financial exploitation.

The dedication of the policy of tyranny and its consolidation by the Syrian National Army with the support of Turkey has become clear and is being practiced against civilians. There are no projects that support society except violations, says media activist Mohsen Satouf (a pseudonym for a private source for Aso News Network) in northern Syria, describing the prisons and detention centers of the factions as the worst prisons in dealing with detainees “The factions have notorious prisons, especially prisons affiliated with the (military police), which have many prisons in the occupied cities of Afrin, Tal Abiyad / Girê Sipî, Serê Kaniyê / Ras al-Ain, al-Bab, Jarablus, Azaz and Rajo.”

According to the journalist Satouf, the Turkish occupation gives the factions the task of violations, and does not hold them accountable, and shows that “each prison is supervised by a group of leaders known for their criminality against detainees, their exploitation of detainees and access to money.”

Satouf refers to prisons that have become notorious under the supervision of the Syrian National Army factions, “There are many well-known and famous prisons that belong to many armed Syrian factions loyal to the Turkish occupation, such as (Al-Bab Prison), (Afrin Prison), (Tal Abiyad Prison), ( Azaz) and (Jarablus Prison), which are well-known prisons, including central prisons affiliated with various factions, such as (Al-Jabha Al-Shamiya), (Fayilaq Al-Sham), (Sultan Murad Division), (Al-Hamza Division) and others.

Speaking about dealings in prisons, Satouf says that the arbitrary policies against detainees in prisons are different, and vary in degrees of abuse. For example, “the officials in Jarablus prison adopt a policy of starving detainees, especially after opening a food store inside the prison, to force them to buy food at high prices, Whoever does not buy from the store is intended to go hungry,” according to the media activist.

“Satouf” continues by saying that “the source responsible for the (military police) prison in the city of Jarablus, called Lieutenant (Rakan Abu Ali), from the southern countryside of Aleppo, is known for exploiting detainees, the majority of whom are civilians, after opening a food store inside the prison. And selling materials at double prices to detainees, after reducing the amount of basic meals in prison for them, until they are forced to buy from the shop owned by the prison official and run by one of his relatives.

The arbitrary practices of the Syrian National Army factions do not stop at violations and extortion, but rather go beyond malicious ideas. The special source narrates for Aso News Network the moral degeneration of those responsible for the prisons located in the areas under the control of these factions. He asserts that one of the officials in charge of the “Military Police” prison called “Abu Omar” takes the numbers of women from the relatives of the detainees, blackmails them to obtain money, and sexually harasss them via Internet, in exchange for the release of their detained relatives.

Also, the official in charge of the military police prison in the town of Rajo, called “Farouq Muhaimid,” receives sums of money sent by the detainees’ families, where he deducts 30% of them and imposes electricity and water fees on the detainees, and asks for sums of money in exchange for the detainees’ release or transfer to other prisons, according to the same source.

The source continues his interview with Aso News Network that the violations include a wide framework. In the city of Azaz, an officer named (Hisham Derbala) supervises the (Military Police) prison, “The prison is considered a human slaughterhouse, and the so-called (Hisham Derbala) is known to blackmail detainees’ families and communicate with them to obtain money In return for providing comfort to the detainee and caring for him.

The matter does not stop at that only, but goes beyond that the faction leaders who supervise Rajo prison to release criminals involved in crimes of murder, abuse, drug smuggling and thefts, in exchange for payment of sums of money. Aso News Network’s special source documented the name “Abu Omar Al-Uzbek”, who belongs to ISIS on April 20, 2020, was released in exchange for $1,000 by the Syrian National Army factions.

The most prominent reasons for detention in the prisons of the factions and the charges brought
Prisons in northern Syria occupied by factions loyal to the Turkish occupation include civilians, most of whom are activists and intellectuals who are known for their opposition to the de-facto authority, or criticism of one of the factions or military leaders, according to media activist “Elias al-Ali” (pseudonym) in his interview with Aso News Network.

Al-Ali says: “The factions loyal to the Turkish occupation arrest civilians through their checkpoints in the areas, and the charges range from belonging to ISIS or the Syrian Democratic Forces, or communicating with the international coalition.”

He points out that most of the reasons are primarily retaliatory, adding: “The factions loyal to the Turkish occupation arrest civilians through their deployed checkpoints without any legal method, such as clarifying the reason for the arrest or allowing a lawyer to defend the accused, and prison sentences are given according to what the judge wants.”

The media activist mentions that prisons are where the worst types of torture are practiced; severe beatings, food deprivation, electric shocks, solicitation of the detainee for along time, and others, stressing that arrests do not differentiate between a man and a woman or a young and old child, but rather take place randomly.

Pointing out that most of the arrests affect Kurdish civilians, with the aim of seizing their property or forcing them to sell it or putting pressure on them to leave the area, as he put it.

The experience of a survivor from the prisons of the armed factions
Nour Al-Ahmad (a pseudonym for a survivor of detention) talks to a journalist from the western Hama countryside about his experience in a secret prison in the Shiyeh \ Sheikh Al-Hadid area, which is under the control of the faction of Sultan Suleiman Shah Division loyal to the Turkish occupation in occupied Afrin, on charges of disobeying the orders of an officer at one of the checkpoints.
His detention lasted for a month before he was released after paying a large sum of money.

He says, “I was arrested because the checkpoint members were not allowed to search my car and my mobile phone.” He added, “I was detained for several hours at the checkpoint, then I was transferred to the police station of the faction, and after the discussion developed, I was imprisoned in the cell.”

When his relatives heard the news of his arrest, a number of them headed to the prison to inquire about the reason for his arrest and demand his release, but to no avail. Where the prior detainee in the jails of Sultan Murad Shah mentioned that the so-called faction leader Abu Amsha refused to release him that time to be transferred to a secret prison, according to what he said, and shows that the prison consisted of three underground rooms two meters deep, in which he was subjected to the most severe forms of torture, including beatings with sticks and electric shocks, almost daily for a whole month.

“Al-Ahmad” confirms that, a month after his arrest, one of his relatives reached an agreement with “Abu Amsha”, according to which he would pay $3,000 in exchange for his release. He believes that the reason for his arrest was mainly to blackmail his relatives, and pressure them to pay them money in exchange for his release.

The armed factions loyal to the Turkish occupation did not leave a means of making a living and collecting money in their areas of control but followed them, from sending mercenaries to fight under the command of Turkey to Libya and Azerbaijan to confiscating and selling property, imposing taxes and royalties, and extorting detainees from prisons and their families, and all of this falls within the framework of the continuation of the daily violations that are commits by the armed factions in areas controlled by the Turkish occupation in northern Syria.