KURDWATCH, January 26, 2012—On January 19, 2012, ĘżAbdulmajid Tamr was released from custody in Aleppo based on Amnesty Decree No. 10, dated January 15, 2012. Employees of the Political Security Directorate arrested the activist on May 31, 2011 in al-Qamishli and transferred him to the Political Security Directorate in al-Hasakah. During interrogations, Tamr’s eyes and hands were bound; he was tortured with electric billy clubs as well as forced into a tire and beaten (Dulab method). Additionally, he was beaten on the soles of his feet (Falaqa method, bastinado). Tamr was forced to provide his access data for Facebook and Skype as well as the passwords to his e-mail accounts. Fifteen days later, he was brought to the Political Security Directorate in Damascus and also interrogated. Another twenty-five days later, he and other inmates were brought to Aleppo. There, the Military Prosecution raised charges pursuant to Article 285 of the Criminal Code. [Further information on the case]
KURDWATCH, January 25, 2012—Members of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian branch of the PKK, have threatened to kill the activist SaĘżdun Sino. During the Friday demonstration on January 20, 2012, Sino, who is among the most active dissidents in al-Darbasiyah and who played a leading role in organizing the demonstrations there, had openly condemned the killing of Ahmad ĘżAbdullah Badro, Nidal ĘżAbdullah Badro, and ĘżAmar ĘżAbdullah Badro by the PYD [further information on the case]. After leading figures from al-Darbsiyah advocated for Sino, and after he apologized to the PYD for his statements, PYD functionaries stated that they would not go ahead with the killing they had been ordered to carry out.
KURDWATCH, January 25, 2012—On January 17, 2012, Ahmad ĘżAbdullah Badro’s photo shop in al-Qamishli was burned down. It is presumed that members or sympathizers of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) are responsible for the act. Badro and two of his brothers were murdered by the PYD on January 10, 2012. [Further information on the case]
KURDWATCH, January 24, 2012—Nationwide protests on January 20, 2012 once again resulted in numerous dead and injured. Throughout the country, demonstrators united under the slogan »The Prisoners of the Revolution« took to the streets to demand the fall of the regime. Protests also took place in al‑Qamishli, ĘżAmudah, Darbasiyah, ĘżAyn al‑ʿArab (Kobanî), al‑Malikiyah (Dêrik), and RaĘľs al‑ʿAyn (Serê Kaniyê). In al-Qamishli demonstrations again took place in several districts; the Kurdish Patriotic Conference yet again organized its own rally. As in previous weeks, three separate demonstrations took place in ĘżAmudah.
KURDWATCH, January 22, 2012—On January 14, 2012, the engineer SaĘżid Fahd Deriki (b. 1970, married, three children) was arrested at his workplace for Syrian state television in Damascus. Deriki is accused of having secretly filmed a pro-Assad demonstration to show that there were far fewer participants than authorities had previously claimed.
KURDWATCH, January 21, 2012—Fahima Salih Usi, alias Harvin Usi, an activist for the Kurdish Future Movement in Syria, has announced her resignation from the party. In justifying this step, she cited the change in course that her party has taken following the assassination of party speaker MishĘżal at-Tammu and explained that she wants to be more active »on the ground« again.
KURDWATCH, January 19, 2012—Rezan Bahri Shaykhmus (b. 1962, married, four children) is the chairman of the Kurdish Future Movement's Office of General Communications. The engineer lives in Syria. In a conversation with KurdWatch, Shaikhmus speaks about the Future Movement's political work following the death of its speaker MishĘżal at-Tammu. [Read the interview]
KURDWATCH, January 18, 2012—On January 15, 2012, the Kurdish Patriotic Conference decided that its members should suspend their affiliation with the Syrian oppositional coalitions (Syrian National Council, National Union of the Forces for Democratic Change, and Damascus Declaration) until further notice. The goal is for the Kurdish parties to negotiate with the Syrian opposition as a united block.
KURDWATCH, January 18, 2012—On January 15, 2012, Majdal ĘżAbdulfatah ĘżUji was released from custody in al-Qamishli. Charges pursuant to Article 285 had been raised against the engineer, who had been in custody since August 26, 2011. ĘżUji benefited from Amnesty Decree No. 10, dated January 15, 2012. [Further information on the case]
KURDWATCH, January 18, 2012—Nationwide protests on January 13, 2012 resulted again in numerous dead and injured. Throughout the country, demonstrators united under the slogan »Support for the Free Army« took to the streets to demand the fall of the regime. Protests also took place in al-Qamishli, ĘżAmudah, Darbasiyah, ĘżAyn al-ĘżArab (Kobanî), al-Malikiyah (Dêrik), and RaĘľs al-ĘżAyn (Serê Kaniyê). In al-Qamishli, several demonstrations took place in different districts, including a rally organized by the Kurdish Patriotic Conference. In the district of al-ĘżAntariya, supporters of the regime shot over the heads of the demonstrators, who answered by throwing stones. Supporters of the regime also disrupted the demonstration in RaĘľs al ĘżAyn. As in previous weeks, three separate demonstrations took place in ĘżAmudah. The Democratic Union Party (PYD) demonstrated under the slogan »A worthy life«.
KURDWATCH, January 17, 2012—With Decree Number 10, dated January 15, 2012, President Bashar al Assad granted amnesty to all those who, since March 15, 2011, have been charged with crimes or offenses pursuant to Articles 285, 286, 287, 291, 294, 307, 308, 327, and 328 of the Criminal Code. All those who were charged with offenses pursuant to Articles 335 to 339 of the Criminal Code also received amnesty – these articles apply to the right to demonstrate, which was newly regulated by Presidential Decree No. 54, dated April 21, 2011. People who are liable to prosecution for illegal possession of weapons as well as all those who have deserted will also receive amnesty. Anyone who has not yet been arrested will benefit from this amnesty if he turns himself in by January 31, 2012.
KURDWATCH, January 15, 2012—On January 11, 2012, Arab League observers visited several Kurdish cities. In al-Qamishli, Syrian security forces escorted them to a pro-Assad demonstration organized by the regime and prevented them from observing the dissident protests. In ĘżAmudah, Syrian security forces also accompanied the observers. However, unlike in al-Qamishli in ĘżAmudah the observer contingent was received by a large number of dissident demonstrators who demanded the overthrow of the president.
KURDWATCH, January 13, 2012—On January 10, 2012, Ahmad ĘżAbdullah Badro (b. 1971), Nidal ĘżAbdullah Badro (b. 1967), and ĘżAmar ĘżAbdullah Badro (b. 1973, married, three children) were killed in al-Qamishli by armed members of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). PYD members had already attacked ĘżAbdullah Badro, the father of those killed, at his home on January 8, 2012. He suffered severe bullet wounds. In the course of the attack, one of the attackers, Muhammad Mahmud, code name Khabad, a PYD member from al-Malikiyah (Dêrik) who, until recently, had fought for the PKK, was killed in the cross fire. Immediately after this incident, the police arrested ĘżImad ĘżAbdullah Badro, another of ĘżAbdullah Badro’s sons. ĘżAbdullah Badro is currently being treated at a hospital in al-Qamishli. A previously unknown group that calls itself »Protectors of the People´s Values« has taken responsibility for the murders of the brothers Ahmad, Nidal, and ĘżAmar ĘżAbdullah Badro. Their statement was broadcast on January 10, 2012 in Arabic by the PKK-friendly news agency Firat, as well as via the official PYD website. The murders are being justified by the death of Muhammad Mahmud, as well as by the seizure of PKK/PYD property. ĘżAbdullah Badro was formerly a PKK member, and a villa in Damascus, in which PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan lived during his stay in Syria, is said to have been registered in Badro’s name. When Öcalan left Syria in 1998 under pressure from Turkey, ĘżAbdullah Badro allegedly remained in possession of the villa. Even after he had turned his back on the PKK, he is said to have refused to return the villa, as he claimed that Öcalan had personally bequeathed it to him. In a statement on January 10, 2011, the Kurdish Union Party in Syria (Yekîtî) condemned the murders in al-Qamishli and described them as »despicable crimes«. The Yekîtî did not mention who was responsible for the murders. The Union of Kurdish Democratic Forces in Syria, the Avahi, a coalition of independent Kurdish youth groups, as well as the Union of the Coordinating Committees of Kurdish Youth in Syria have also condemned the murders. In a joint statement they held the »Shabiha« responsible for the acts. The term »Shabiha« refers to the regime’s irregular armed groups.
ShareThis