More like a grave..former kidnapper in Turkey's mercenaries prison reveals the horrors of Al-Ra'i prison

Rasul Khalil, the former kidnapped by the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation in the occupied city of Afrin, describes the Al-Ra’i prison in the grave, where he endured, for 3 years, the most severe types of psychological and physical torture, and confirms that Afrin is not like Afrin, “strange people wandering in it, women in black clothes.” As in the time of the occupation of ISIS.

9 September, 2021 00:26

Yara Muhammad

After nearly three years and three months, about a week ago Rasoul Khalil (20 years) was released from al-Ra'i prison, which is under the control of the Turkish occupation mercenaries in the northern countryside of Aleppo, to see the light again and head to the city of Qamishlo. To find out what was going on in the prison of the practices and crimes of the Turkish occupation army, our agency conducted an interview with him.

The abductees in the prisons are subjected to the most severe forms of torture and ill-treatment, which sometimes amount to killing under torture, not to mention psychological torture through the use of abusive and offensive words.

Who is Khalil and how was he kidnapped?

The kidnapper, Rasoul Khalil, is one of 120 kidnappers in Al-Ra’i prison. He comes from the village of Kafr Saghir in Al-Shahba canton. He was kidnapped on the Kafr Jannah road, about 7 km east of the city of Afrin, next to the main road that connects the occupied cities of Afrin and Aleppo, and it is 500 meters away from the road.

Rasul did not know, at that time, what would happen to him, and he says in this regard, "On my way to Kafr Jannah, there was a mobile checkpoint. I was arrested at that time. They took a picture of me, then they transferred me to the notorious Al-Ra'i prison. Later, they contacted my family and told them that I was in. They seized them, and asked them for a ransom of (11 million) Syrian pounds, in exchange for my release.”

He added, "After I was taken to prison, I was interrogated by Turkish intelligence. They asked some strange questions, and I went down about 21 stairs to the underground."

“Al-Ra’i Prison” .. Young women set themselves on fire.

Rasoul remained in prison for nearly three years and three months, during which he suffered brutal practices.

He thinks back again, recalling three young women who set their bodies on fire to provide any information that would harm civilians, and adds, "The mercenaries of the so-called Sultan Murad used to treat us harshly amid the lack of means of life. This was the prison in which 120 abductees live.”

Who are the mercenaries of "Sultan Murad" and how were they founded?

The "Sultan Murad" mercenary squad was founded in 2013 by Turkish intelligence, and it includes several hard-line mercenary groups, namely "the mercenaries of Sultan Muhammad al-Fateh, mercenaries of Zaki Turkmani, and mercenaries of the lions of faith", with the aim of assembling mercenaries from the Syrian Turkmen in a unified structure, turning them into a Turkish tool in the Syrian war.

The mercenaries, which include, according to media reports, mercenaries from ISIS, are known as the Turkish tool for committing crimes that Ankara is trying to distance itself from in public, and practiced ethnic and demographic cleansing against the Kurds in the occupied city of Afrin.

Torture, starvation and intimidation

Rasul Khalil continues, saying: "We were being tortured by Turkmen affiliated with Sultan Murad's mercenaries, and near us there was a person whose name was not disclosed to us, from the city of Kobani, who was unable to move, lying on his back as a result of the brutal torture against him, after his release from prison. In a short time, we received news that he had passed away.

What Rasoul Khalil was subjected to in Al-Ra’i prison, was narrated by many of the kidnappers who came out for ransom, and pointed with his hand to his left shoulder, which still bears traces of torture: “They handcuffed my hands from behind and blindfolded my eyes with a piece of cloth. on the abdomen and another on the back,” which caused fractures in his left hand.

Like a tomb, deep and dark

Rasul Khalil describes al-Ra’i prison as a “deep and dark grave.” The cries of the abductees during torture could not be heard or seen, and the smell of dampness wafted around. Without switching, we wished death over life in that prison."

Rasul Khalil's family paid large sums of money to the mercenaries to reveal the fate of their kidnapped son, Khalil says, last time (2000 US dollars).

About a week ago, Khalil saw the light again, and he could hardly believe what had happened. "I did not believe that I got out of prison until after I arrived in the city of Qamishlo. What I saw and passed through in prison made me lose the hope I was holding on to."

'Afrin is not like before.

Prior to the release of Rasul Khalil, he was transferred to the occupied city of Afrin. In the course of his speech, he recounts what he saw of the radical changes that occurred in the city of Zaytoun, which Turkey occupied in 2018, saying, "Since that time, Afrin does not resemble itself. I noticed during my transfer to a central prison In Afrin, the demographic change that has taken place in the city, strangers roaming in it, women dressed in black as ISIS mercenaries.

Rasul Khalil confirms that those who returned to their homes fled from them, fleeing again as a result of crimes and inhumane practices, from systematic kidnapping, looting, theft and murder against them. Syria and the Vice-President of the Syrian Coalition, which is directly linked to the Turkish occupation state, about the occurrence of any crimes in Afrin, describing the reports issued in this regard as lies and slander.

About 25 abductees remained in that prison, according to what Rasoul Khalil, the former kidnapper in Al-Ra'i prison, told.

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ANHA