SARA organization calls upon to hold Turkey accountable of its crimes against women

The crimes of the Turkish occupying state and its mercenaries against women continue in the occupied city of Afrin. Recently, on 2 December, mercenaries of the so-called "Political Security" of the Turkish occupying state abducted three young women on the entrance to the Afrin-Azaz road.

About the crimes of the occupying state against women in occupied Afrin, ANHA’s agency interviewed with the administrator of SARA organization, Aroz Tammo.

Arzo Tammo indicated that the Turkish occupation state, with its occupation of the NE Syria (Afrin, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî), committed many crimes against women, and thousands of women were raped, tortured and kidnapped. Adding: "The Turkish state and its mercenaries kidnap women and take them to underground prisons, not to mention killing and burying thousands of them. We feel sorry and pain for what the women are exposed to, but the ways to enter the city are completely closed."

She said: "It is known that the Turkish state is the one who founded ISIS mercenaries, so there is no difference between their practices. We can mention the crime of assassination of the two activists, Hind and Saada, some time ago, as ISIS mercenaries were kidnapped on January 22, 2021, the co-chair of the town council "Tel Al-Shayer, which belongs to the Dashishah district in Al-Hasakah canton, Saada Al-Hermas and her deputy, Hind Al-Khudair, and they killed them."

Arzo Tammo explained: " Rojava Revolution was known as the Women's Revolution, so these attacks are a message to prevent women's freedom, as the Turkish state shows that women who demand their freedom will eventually be kidnapped, tortured and assaulted. Therefore, we in the women's organization in north and east Syria escalate our resistance against these practices."

And about what is happening in the occupied city of Afrin, Arzo Tammo commented, "The women in Afrin want to escape from Afrin because of the kidnappings and rape they are subjected to at the hands of the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries, but they closed the border roads to prevent the women from leaving the city."

She recounted the details of a woman's communication with the Sara Organization for Combating Violence against Women seeking help, "A few days ago, a woman from abroad spoke to us and told us that her mother was in occupied Afrin, and she was elderly. The mercenaries took her out of her house, beat her and took all her property, and her mother wants to leave the city, but she can’t. So, they asked us for help, but we apologized to them because the road to the city is closed to us, and the woman is still in Afrin.”

Arzo Tammo drew attention to their relations with international women's organizations, and stated that some organizations had visited their headquarters recently, and said: "We discussed the issue of crimes against women in the occupied territories with representatives of women's organizations, and they promised to make efforts to prevent crimes against women, but these organizations must take the issue more seriously towards the crimes of the Turkish state and its mercenaries, so far no steps have been taken, and on the other hand, it does not allow women's organizations to enter the occupied areas so that their crimes and practices are not exposed to public opinion.

It is worth noting that in October 2021 a pregnant woman named Nemat Bahjat Sheikho, 32, was tortured to death in a prison belonging to the Turkish occupation state. A former kidnapped, who was released from the notorious Al-Ra'i prison, stated that three young women set themselves on fire inside the prison.

At the end of her meeting, Arzo Tammo said: "The occupying Turkish state must be held accountable, and the people who committed and commit crimes must be referred to the courts and sentenced to life imprisonment, but so far they have not been held accountable because of the silence of the international forces."

T/S

ANHA