Mother of Syrian Kurd imprisoned in Turkey pleads for help from UN, rights groups
KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – On Thursday, the mother of imprisoned Syrian Kurd Cicek Kobani called on human rights groups and the United Nations to intervene to stop a Turkish court’s ruling against her daughter, which she describes as “illegal and unjust.”
Wahida Othman told North Press in an interview that her daughter was kidnapped from the village of al-Mushairfa, near the town of Ain Issa, in late 2019 while “carrying out humanitarian work.”
On Tuesday, 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).
The mother added that her daughter was essentially kidnapped by “armed mercenaries” on Syrian territory, before they handed her over to Turkey. Temmo was born in the city of Kobane.
Othman believes that the ones who took her daughter, whom she described as mercenaries, should be the ones facing trial rather than her daughter. “If she is to be tried, she must be tried in Syria. Turkey has no right to pass judgement against my daughter,” she added.
Kobani’s mother 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.
The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying country from transferring groups or individuals to its own territory, regardless of the reason. Turkey has arrested dozens of Syrian citizens from Syria and transferred them to Turkey for trial, according to both Human Rights Watch and the Violations Documentation Center – Northern Syria.