Syria: Further information: Two Kurdish activists freed, third still detained: Amin Hussam, Bashar Amin and Mohsen Taher
On July 10, Syrian Kurdish opposition activist Mohsen Taher was transferred to hospital due to a deterioration in his health. Amin Hussam and Bashar Amin, also Syrian Kurdish opposition activists, were released. The three had been arrested by the Asayish forces in May and detained at Allaya prison, north-eastern Syria.
Further information on UA: 123/17 Index: MDE 24/6710/2017 Syria Date: 12 July 2017
URGENT ACTION
TWO KURDISH ACTIVISTS FREED, THIRD STILL DETAINED
On July 10, Syrian Kurdish opposition activist Mohsen Taher was transferred to hospital
due to a deterioration in his health. Amin Hussam and Bashar Amin, also Syrian Kurdish
opposition activists, were released. The three had been arrested by the Asayish forces in
May and detained at Allaya prison, north-eastern Syria.
Detained Syrian Kurdish opposition activist Mohsen Taher (49 years old) was transferred to Farman hospital on 10
July due to a deterioration in his health. He is a member of the Kurdish National Council in Syria (ENKS). Amin
Hussam (58 years old) and Bashar Amin (70 years old), two other Syrian Kurdish opposition activists and also
members of the ENKS, were released on 10 July.
Mohsen Taher and Amin Hussam were arrested by the Asayish forces, the police force of the Democratic Union
Party (PYD)-led Autonomous Administration, on 9 May. Bashar Amin was arrested by the Asayish forces on 21
May. The three were detained at Allaya prison, in Qamishli city, north-eastern Syria, with no charge or access to
lawyers.
Mohsen Taher was transferred to Farman hospital on 10 July where he underwent medical tests before being
returned to Allaya prison around 5 pm. According to a relative, Mohsen Taher’s family was able to communicate
with him on 11 July, and he confirmed that he was returned to Allaya prison and that he is in a stable health
condition. Prior to his transfer to hospital, Mohsen Taher confirmed to his family that he had still not been formally
charged with any offence or had access to a lawyer.
“We are very worried about Mohsen’s health condition, we heard that he had lost a lot of weight”, the relative told
Amnesty International.
Amin Hussam was released from detention on 10 July at 7pm. He suffers from chronic migraine and neuronal
necrosis in his right leg, requiring continuous medication. His health condition is stable.
Bashar Amin was released on 10 July at 9:15pm for medical treatment as he suffers a chronic heart condition and
requires proper medical care and nutrition. Bashar Amin is currently receiving proper medical care.
The men were held in poor detention conditions in Allaya prison and suffered from severe weight loss as a result of
insufficient food. Their relatives said that they were struggling to cope with the high temperatures inside their cell
due to a lack of proper ventilation systems.
Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language:
Urging the Asayish forces to release Mohsen Taher immediately or charge him with a recognizable offence, in
line with international law and standards;
Urging them to ensure that pending his release, he is protected from torture and other ill-treatment, granted
access to their family and lawyers, and the urgent medical treatment that his condition requires.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 23 AUGUST 2017 TO:
Head of Asayish
Ciwan Ibrahim
Email: asayisraghandin@gmail.com
Twitter: @ciwanbrahim
Salutation: Mr
Co-president of the Democratic Union
Party (PYD)
Salih Maslem Mohamed
Twitter: @serokepyd
Salutation: Mr
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the first update of UA 123/17. Further information:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/MDE24/6381/2017/en/
URGENT ACTION
TWO KURDISH ACTIVISTS FREED, THIRD STILL DETAINED
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Bashar Amin was formerly captured by an unknown party in May 2014 and exiled to Iraqi Kurdistan where he stayed for two
weeks. He then returned to Hasakeh to continue his activism despite repeatedly being harassed by the Asayish and the Syrian
government. In October 2016, Bashar Amin lost a son in the suicide bombing that targeted a wedding ceremony in Hasakeh
city.
The arbitrary detention of Mohsen Taher, Amin Hussam and Bashar Amin in May is believed to be part of a calculated
campaign of arrests of political activists and others by the Asayish across the area controlled by the PYD-led Autonomous
Administration, commonly referred to as Rojava. Since 14 March 2017, the Asayish have arbitrarily arrested and detained
numerous members and supporters of Kurdish opposition parties in Qamishli and in more than nine cities across Rojava.
The 13 leading members of the ENKS arrested by the Asayish on 9 May were: Fasla Youssef, Narin Matini, Mahmud Malla,
Mohsen Taher, Abdelsamad Khalaf Biro, Fathi Gaddo, Ahmed Ajeh, Mahmoud Haj Ali, Farhad Tami, Mohamed Amin Hossam,
Noreldin Fattah, Taher Hassaf, and Qassem Sherif.
These arrests happened as a result of ENKS continuing work following the closure of their offices by the Asayish on May 2 for
operating an “unlicensed” organisation. On May 7, the ENKS organized a sit-in in front of its main office in the Siyahi
neighborhood in Qamishli, during which Mohsen Taher gave a speech denouncing the repressive practices of the PYD. At the
end of the sit-in, Mohsen Taher reopened the ENKS main office and the members went back to operating it normally until their
arrest by the Asayish on 9 May.
On 10 May, the Asayish forces arrested Mohamed Sido Ben Hassan in Afrin, an 80-year-old supporter of the ENKS. Mohamed
Sido Ben Hassan was detained for 14 days, then put on public trial in his village Bilan, during which he died of a cardiac arrest.
A few days later, the Asayish forces arrested four additional members of the ENKS: Suleiman Oussou, Fouad Ibrahim, Nafeh
Abdullah and Barzan Hussein who works as a reporter at Ark TV. On 24 June, Suleiman Oussou was released for medical
treatment due to his critical heart condition, but the other three men remain in arbitrary detention at Allaya prison until now.
In 2014, the PYD along with a number of smaller political parties established an autonomous administration in three primarily
Kurdish cantons in northern Syria: Afrin, Jazira (in Hasakeh governorate) and Ain al-Arab (Kobani). The PYD-led Administration
has its own police force, courts, prisons, ministries and laws. The PYD also formed an army, the People’s Protection Unit
(YPG), primarily responsible for protecting Kurdish held territory and for running military courts.
In August 2015, Amnesty International visited two central prisons under the control of the Asayish, in Qamishli and Malikiya.
Amnesty International researchers documented the arbitrary detention of critics and others believed to be sympathizers or
members of the armed group calling itself the Islamic State. Some people had been arbitrarily detained for periods up to a year
without charge or trial. Those who did face trials were held in lengthy pre-trial detention and proceedings were blatantly unfair.
Name: Mohsen Taher, Amin Hussam and Bashar Amin.
Gender m/f: All males
Further information on UA: 123/17 Index: MDE 24/6710/2017 Issue Date: 12 July 2017