Kobani's Martyrs’ Families Foundation condemns arrests, calls for independent investigation

The Martyrs’ Families Foundation in Kobani issued a statement today regarding the arbitrary arrests, intimidation of civilians and racist insults witnessed in the city last night, saying:

“With great anger and sorrow, the Martyrs’ Families Foundation in Kobani strongly condemns the practices witnessed in our city last night, including arbitrary arrests, the intimidation of civilians and racist insults that undermine the dignity of our people and their Kurdish identity.

Last night, a convoy affiliated with the Internal Security Forces arrived in the city of Kobani from Aleppo and drove through its streets during the night, arbitrarily arresting civilians while directing curses, obscene language and racist insults at residents. These practices constitute a blatant assault on the dignity of the city and the security of its residents and cannot be justified under any security pretext.

Later, a group of prisoners staged a protest inside the prison and set fire to the dormitories in opposition to an attempt by the Internal Security Forces, led by Colonel Majd al-Din al-Sheikh, to forcibly transfer them from the city’s prison to another location outside the city. The incident resulted in the martyrdom of nine prisoners and a large number of others suffering from suffocation.

The gravity of this tragedy requires the full truth to be revealed and the responsibility of everyone who issued the orders, carried them out or contributed to exposing the prisoners’ lives to danger to be determined.

We hold the leadership of the Internal Security Forces responsible for the safety of detainees and for protecting them from intimidation and abuse. We reject reducing what happened to ‘individual violations’ or using any justification to obscure responsibility. The lives of our sons are not a detail, the dignity of our people is not up for abuse, and the blood of the victims will not be buried in silence.

Accordingly, we demand an independent and transparent investigation into the deaths and abuses, the publication of its findings to the public, accountability for everyone found responsible, regardless of rank or position, and guarantees that such practices will not be repeated.”

A-H 

ANHA