Report reveals Erdogan’s secret prisons in Syria

Robier al-Fares

A human rights report has revealed a number of detention centers and prisons that were established at a special request from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Syria.

A documented report of the Human Rights Organization in Afrin said that the Turkish government, through its military forces and affiliated armed militias of thieves and terrorists, invaded the Afrin region to stir up ethnic and religious strife, and it also expanded the authority of the leaders of these militias to practice inhuman violations against the indigenous Kurdish population. Ankara financed them to establish security headquarters and secret prisons under the direct supervision of Turkish intelligence agents, where there are a number of arbitrary detention centers that run by the military and civil police in both Rajo and Marata.

We will address the secret arbitrary detention centers that are not subject to the legislative laws and the formal administrative judiciary, but rather follow the leaders of the armed militias in a number of villages in the Afrin region without mentioning other detention centers for security needs.

1 – Al-Mawasalat Prison (Afrin): It is run by the Levant Front militia under the supervision of Syrian security personnel who have defected from the Syrian regime. Detainees in the prison are subjected to all methods of severe torture when transferred to the prison.

2 – Al-Barad Prison (Afrin): It is run by the Levant Front and contains the kidnapped citizens from Afrin and the surrounding villages, especially women. Prisoners in it are subjected to various methods of physical and psychological torture.

3 – Al-Karamah School Prison (Afrin): Al-Karama School is considered one of the oldest schools in Afrin. The prison is run by the Sham Legion militia. The detainees are subjected to various methods of torture, and it contains a special wing for women.

4 – Court Prison (Afrin): It is located in the old building of the court, and it is considered one of the detention centers for women who were kidnapped from all sides of the Afrin region. The detention center is run by the Levant Front and Turkish intelligence agents.

5 – Taranda Prison (Afrin): It is run by Turkish intelligence agents, and it is the most dangerous secret detention center, in which all methods of physical and psychological torture are practiced.

6 – Afrin Azhar Prison (Afrin): It is run by the Ahrar al-Sharqiya militia under the supervision of Turkish intelligence agents. Most of the detainees are from Afrin and the villages surrounding the city.

7 – Arab Union School Prison (Afrin): It is run by the Levant Front and contains a wing for women, which was later converted into a military headquarters.

8 – Ashrafieh Prison (Afrin): It is located in one of the old abandoned houses run by an armed group led by Abu Idris. It contains four rooms, including two with detainees numbering about 50-60 individuals.

9 – Mahmudiyah Prison (Afrin): It is run by the Hamza Division militia and contains dozens of detainees. There are two rooms for women.

10 – Villas Street Prison (Afrin): It is located in an abandoned house and is run by Ahrar al-Sharqiya.

11- Amir Ghobari School Prison (Afrin): It is run by Turkish intelligence agents in coordination with a number of armed militia leaders. Cases related to the previous administration are being investigated.

12 – Al-Basouta Prison (Afrin): Also known as the Citadel Prison, the prison is supervised by the leaders of the Hamza Division. Most of the detainees are kidnapped residents of villages under the control of the militia.

13 – Khraibet Sharran Prison (Sharran sub-district): It was previously run by the Sultan Murad Division militia, and later it was transferred to a prison run by the military and civil police.

14 – Kafarjana Prison: This prison is supervised by members of the Levant Front, led by Abu Ahmed Nour, where torture is practiced uncontrolled. Kurdish civilians are liquidated due to the lack of financial means and their incapable conditions are met as a result of their demand for huge sums of money that may reach up to $25,000. The prison contains individuals who have been kidnapped for more than two years, and the militia refuses to hand them over to the judiciary and the civil and military police, denying their presence. A brigadier general named Abu Ibrahim, who heads the prison administration, belongs to the Levant Front militia, and in the event that any complaint against them is received, he hides it. When lawyers investigate, the answer is that the matter is in the hands of the Turkish intelligence service and the militia cannot interfere in matters.

15 – Prison of the village of Shanghila (Bulbul district): The prison is located in the house of citizen Jamil Muhammad Atash and run by the Hamza Division, which controls several villages in the area (Shanghila, Zaara, Ali Karo, Beka) of the Bulbul district. The prison is in a rectangular shape exceeding 15 meters in length and 5 meters in width. Torture is brutally carried out using all the methods used by the Syrian regime, which leads to permanent impairment.