Syria: Kurdish demonstration for the release of political prisoners announced for tomorrow

Two of the Kurdish parties of Syria, the Yekiti (Unity) and the Azadi (Freedom) have announced demonstrations for tomorrow, Thursday, 9th February at 9.30 for the release of 59 Kurdish political prisoners in Quamishli. On Thursday, six days after the brutal attack on the embassies of Denmark and Norway, permitted by the totalitarian Assad regime, a court case will be opened against 47 Kurdish Syrian citizens. The accused were arrested in June 2005 because they had protested against the murder of the spiritual head of the Kurds in Syria, Sheik Mashuk Al Khznawi, by the Syrian secret service. Tilman Zülch, President of the Society for Threatened Peoples International (GfbV), drew today the attention of all ambassadors in the Syrian capital to the demonstrations and warned of fresh violations of human rights.

So far all Kurds demonstrating in a non-violent way in Syria have been arrested by the security forces. The Syrian Kurds living in the north of the country between Afrin (near the Turkish town of Iskenderun/Alexandrette) and Quamishli on the Iraqi border, number today some two million people, making up at least 15% of the population. About a quarter million of them are denied to this day Syrian citizenship.

There are according to various sources several hundred Kurds in Syrian prisons, in which torture is systematically practised. In the night of 21st/22nd January 2006 the Kurd, Nasraldin Ahma, for whose release the GfbV too has been working, was set free after several months in Syrian custody. He has reported severe torture. On 7th January the Kurd, Hadi Ibrahim, from the town of Al Hassaka was arrested. He is being held in custody until the present day without any contact to the outside world, seemingly because he expressed criticism of the regime. Ibrahim is married and is the father of three children.

The following 47 imprisoned Kurdish political prisoners are to be brought before the military court in Quamishli:

1- Farhan Sabri Abdullah 2- Ibrahim Suleiman Abdullah

3- Hikmet Abdulhamid Suleiman 4- Abdulsalam Muhamed

Saadun 5- Ismet Muhamed Daoud 6- Adnan Muhamed Salim

Abdullah 7- Rustem Darwish Darwish 8- Muhamed Abbas

Alali 9- Juan Muhamed Khan 10- Kamil Ahmad M****

Ferhad Haj Yunes 12- Abdulrahman Muhamed Abdo 13- Rodi

Taha Hami 14- Kanan Muhamed Ibrahim 15- Bassim Muhamed

Othman 16- Walat Muhamed Amin Odje 17- Piling

Abdulfatah Odje 18- Rebuar Jafar Boske 19- Ahmad

Mahmoud Amo 20- Hasem Farzand Haj 21- Ahmad Saleh

Ibrahim 22- Mizgin Hussein Muhamed 23- Barzan Hussein

Haji Abdulhamed 24- Abdulsalam Schakir Muhamed 25-

Suwar Nori Hibo 26- Rizgar Hussein Salih 27. Hussein

Khalil Khalifa 28- Farhan Ahmad Haji 29- Ziuar Muhamed

Salih Schekho 30- Khaled Muhamed Najib 31- Massud

Ahmad Hussein 32- Faysal Abdullah Ose 33- Suleiman

Othman Zahraldin 34- Ramadan Hassan Hassan 35-

Abdulmuhsin Muhamed Sueiman 36- Nazir Muhamed Ali Abde

37- Fahad Muhamed Salih Daruish 38- Ali Abdulbaqi Omar

39- Kaniuar Khalil Abdullah 40- Farhan Muhamed Massum

Yusif Alhaji 41- Anas Abduljalil Rassul 42- Ahmad

Khalil Ahmad 43- Alaa Muhamed Siraj Issa 44- Khaled

Salih Othman 45- Schiyar Ahmad Scharo 46- Sipan

Suleiman Hisso 47- Firaz Mirza Abdullah.

Twelve other juveniles are to be brought before the juvenile court in Al Hassaka in the same matter.