Kurdish-led security forces deny Syrian woman arrested due to family ties to Turkish-backed groups

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The General Command of the Kurdish-led Internal Security Forces (ISF), also known as Asayesh, on Wednesday denied reports that a 21-year-old Syrian named Rahaf Hassan As-Saleh was arrested due to the fact that her father was a commander in the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA).

The local pro-Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA) on Monday reported that As-Saleh, from Homs, was arrested in the northern city of Ain al-Issa and  Saleh is the “daughter of a member of mercenary groups with the Turkish occupation state. Her father, Hassan Khalil As-Saleh, joined the mercenary groups in 2012.” 

The agency claimed Rahaf was captured while trying to reach the town of Silouk, outside Tal Abyad, an area that has been occupied by Turkish-backed forces since October 2019. 

The arrest was widely condemned by pro-Syrian opposition activists.

Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Fellow in the Middle East Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told Kurdistan 24 that her arrest “aroused a great deal of anger, even among Syrians who generally hold positions supportive of the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) over other alternatives.

“Because, even according to the accounts offered by media affiliated with the Autonomous Administration,” she said, “the reason for the arrest was solely her father’s involvement with the Turkish-backed factions. I am not aware of any law that can justify the arrest of the daughter for the crimes or military affiliation of her father.”

However, the General Command of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) said in a statement on Wednesday that the suspect was not arrested due to her father’s links to Turkish-backed groups, and also denied claims that she was ill-treated.

“A number of media and news agencies have published reports about the arrest of Rahaf Hassan As-Saleh, 21, on charges of ‘her father and relatives joining the so-called Free [Syrian] Army’. Many Turkish-sponsored media agencies have claimed that our forces have mistreated the detainee,” the General Command said in a statement.

“The Internal Security Forces reject all reports by the noted news agencies with regards to the reason for the arrest or treatment, as our forces detained Rahaf As-Saleh because she was not carrying with herself any identification documents, and she will be referred to the Prosecution and Investigation Committee duly after completing all investigations.”

“We also reiterate our full commitment to protecting human rights, preserving human dignity, and the proper treatment of detainees. We also affirm that the principles on which our forces are based on, are completely incompatible with allegations of ill-treatment. We repeat our adherence to ensuring the safety and security of all society, and holding accountable anyone who attempts for personal exploitation of the principles of our people and the achievements of the revolution which have been possible with the blood of the martyrs.”

Thomas McClure, a Syria-based researcher at the Rojava Information Center, told Kurdistan 24 that the town of Ain al Issa, where the women was arrested, is an area of conflict with daily shellings, explosions, and sleeper cell attacks and that this is an unusual case for a woman to be arrested for links to Turkish-backed groups. 

“Broadly speaking in Syrian conflict, the only side which pays general respect for rule of law for due process and human rights for detainees is the Asayesh and the Syrian Democratic Forces,” he said. 

However, he said Turkish-backed factions have been responsible for the disappearance of women on a daily basis.

“It has been documented that scores of women have been kidnapped, raped, disappeared, and even enslaved by Turkish-backed factions. Whereas, the Asayieh has high respect for due process and rule of law.”

“Nevertheless, there has been criticism of the Asayesh in the past for some arrests they made in areas [such as] Raqqa and Deir ar Zour, and that due processes have not been not observed, and these people were wrongly arrested.”

Al Monitor reported in April that the SDF in the past had detained civil society activists in Raqqa as part of a possible campaign of intimidation.

McClure said that it is important that all parties are held to account, but that the Asayesh have been transparent about this case.

“Hopefully there will be quick resolution, but the focus will remain on those parties in the Syrian conflict that systematically disappear women without being held to account.”

Editing by John J. Catherine