Kurdish civilian allegedly dies from torture in Syrian regime prison

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A 35-year-old Kurdish man from the northern Syrian region of Afrin was allegedly tortured to death while being held in a detention facility by government security forces.

According to local Kurdish activist Mustafa Sheikho, Azad Ebdulqadir Soran was abducted two months ago by regime troops. He was then allegedly tortured to death in a prison run by the Political Intelligence branch of the Syrian security services.

Activist Sheikho told Kurdistan 24 that Soran was taken into custody on the road between the Ashrafiyeh neighborhood and Kurdish-controlled Sheikh Maqsoud district of Aleppo city by the Syrian government’s Baqir group, which is supported by Tehran.

Soran was born in Afrin’s village of Xilalka of northern Aleppo province. He’s the father of three children.

In the days that followed, the victim was reportedly transferred to a military hospital after being subjected to torture, but soon succumbed to his injuries.

Tensions have recently risen between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the government in Damascus.

In April, heavy clashes took place over several days until Kurdish fighters expelled armed groups loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from a neighborhood in Qamishlo.

Read More: Syrian Kurdish-led forces take control of Qamishlo neighborhood after ceasefire

“A permanent truce, mediated and guaranteed by the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] and Russian forces, has been reached in Qamishlo city,” read a statement by the internal security forces of the area, known as Asayish. 

“The residents of al-Tay neighborhood who left their homes due to escalation will be assisted by our forces to return to their homes.”

On June 24, Syrian government security forces arrested Bassem Safar, an editor on cultural topics for the North Press Agency, a news website supportive of the SDF.

Editing by John J. Catherine