The SDF militia continues to commit widespread violations against civilians in Raqqa city. Detainees in prisons such as the Cotton Prison, the Juvenile Prison, the Taamir Prison, the Central Prison, and the General Security Prison suffer from cruel treatment and systematic torture.
In the juvenile prison in particular, detainees are deprived of their most basic human rights, facing a tragic fate.
Y.M. (name withheld for security reasons) was arrested by the Asayish after an altercation with a checkpoint guard who insulted him. Inside the prison, Y.M. was subjected to brutal torture by the jailer Yasser al-Ahmar, known for his extreme cruelty.
According to testimonies from other detainees, Y.M. spent days in solitary confinement and was subjected to fatal beatings by Yasser, which led to his death in prison as a result of the brutal torture.
Although Yasser was briefly detained after the incident, his brutal practices continued after his release. Y.M.'s family demanded that the perpetrator be held accountable, but pressure from the SDF militia prevented this. They were threatened with revenge if details of the incident were published, exposing the extent of the corruption and injustice plaguing the justice system under their control.
Swathes of north and northeast Syria are controlled by a Kurdish-led administration whose de facto army, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded the fight that helped defeat ISIS in Syria in 2019.
Turkey accuses the main component of the SDF, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being affiliated with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) at home, which both Washington and Ankara consider a “terrorist” group.
Turkey has staged multiple operations in SDF areas since 2016, and Ankara-backed groups have captured several Kurdish-held towns in northern Syria in recent weeks.
Despite last March's agreement between the SDF and the Damascus government, Kurdish forces remain evasive, attempting to circumvent integration into the new Syrian army. Kurdish fears are growing with the growing rapprochement between Washington and Damascus, and President Ahmed al-Sharaa's full support for extending state sovereignty across all Syrian territory.
Zaman Al Wasl
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