Pro-Turkey group imprisons Syrian opposition officer
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – On Saturday, activists on social media circulated a video statement issued by the Turkish-backed Suleiman Shah Division demanding Turkey hand over Brigadier General Ahmed Rahal to the military judiciary.
The group sentenced Rahal to three years in prison for speaking about violations committed by the group during television interviews, according to the statement.
Rahal said in a tweet on his official Twitter account, “Abu Amsha’s gang and his mercenaries in his court in Azaz issued me a three-year prison sentence, what a mockery.”
Brigadier General Ahmed Rahal is a former officer in the Syrian Navy and instructor at the Syrian Higher Academy of Military Sciences. In October, Rahal defected from the Syrian government forces and engaged in military action against government forces. He soon turned to media work and became one of the most prominent Syrian military analysts.
In August 2020, the Turkish authorities detained Rahal for two months.
Rahal is known for his frequent criticism of the leaders of the National Army groups, and accusing them of corruption, including Muhammad Al-Jassim, a.k.a. “Abu Amsha.”
In the statement, the squad claimed that Rahal “insulted the Syrian National Army in general and the leadership of the Suleiman Shah Division in particular and continuously.”
The Suleiman Shah Division is led by Muhammad al-Jassim, known as Abu Amsha, one of the most prominent leaders close to Turkey. The group is active in Sheikh Hadid in the countryside of Afrin, north of Aleppo.
According to activists, in the presence of military and civilian judicial services, the division has no right to issue judicial rulings in the area under the control of Turkish forces since 2018.
On March 18, 2018, Turkey and the armed opposition groups affiliated with took control Afrin region, following a military operation that lasted for about two months and caused the displacement of thousands of its residents.