Syrian female activists reject Turkish imprisonment of Cicek Kobani
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Femalehuman rights activists, political party members, and civil society activists have expressed their rejection of the sentence of life imprisonment handed down by a Turkish court to a former volunteer in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“By trying her, Turkey proved it is an occupier state according to Fourth Convention of Geneva,” Mizgin Hassan, head of Research and Women Rights Center in Syria, said.
“As a center, when researching the issue, we see that trying Cicek Kobani is unfair because she did not fight Turkey directly,” Hassan added.
“Cicek Kobani is a Syrian citizen and was arrested on Syrian soil at the hands of Syrians,” she stated.
Ster Qasem, member of the Women’s Coordination in northeast Syria, said that the ruling violates all international laws and norms, since Kobani is Syrian.
Turkey is witnessing a serious deterioration in human rights standards since the right-wing AK Party has ruled the country, whether inside Turkey or abroad, according to Qasem.
Qasem called on civil society organizations, women’s and human rights organizations in Syria and the whole world to pressure Turkish state to reverse its decision and return the Syrian citizen to Syria.
Siham Amokah, member of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria, believes that the violation that Turkey committed against Cicek Kobani “is not the first and will not be the last.”
“It has violated the Syrian sovereignty before, and capturing a Kurdish girl from Syria and her trial in Turkish territories and courts is a clear violation of the right of humanity,” she told North Press.
“Turkey conducts systematic violations against Syrians, especially the Kurds such as in Afrin, Sere Kaniye and other Syrian areas,” she stated.
On March 23, Turkish courts handed down a life sentence to Cicek Kobani, real name Dozgin Temmo, who was a volunteer in the rank of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Cicek Kobani was transferred to Turkish territory after being arrested on October 21, 2019 during an invasion by Turkish-backed Syrian armed groups of the cities of Tel Abyad and Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) in northeast Syria.
In an exclusive interview with North Press on March 25, Cicek Kobani’s mother, Wahida Othman, appealed to human rights organizations and the UN to intervene to overturn her daughter’s sentence, both because she was working as a humanitarian and because she was illegally taken from Syrian territory. She added that Turkish authorities have recently prevented her from speaking with her daughter.
Ilham Ahmed, SDC Executive Committee president, said, “She should not be illegally tried by a NATO member.”
The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the collective or individual forcible transfer of protected persons by the occupying state, according to Article 49 of the Fourth Convention, though Turkey does not consider itself an occupying state.
The Conventions also prohibit their deportation from occupied lands to the territory of the occupying state or to the territory of any other country, whether occupied or not, regardless of their motives.
Turkish authorities continue to violate international law, as the number of Syrians who have been transferred for trial within its territory and in its courts has exceeded 60, according to Human Rights Watch.