Children, freed from terror group YPG's prison in Raqqa, describe torture and abuse

By Enes Canli, Omer Koparan, and Gizem Nisa Demir

RAQQA, Syria (AA) - Children released from al-Aktan prison in the city of Raqqa, which the Syrian Army says it freed from the YPG terrorist organization, have told Anadolu that they were jailed and subjected to severe torture by the group.

The YPG has long claimed it was fighting the terrorist organization ISIS (Daesh).

While seeking international legitimacy by asserting it was holding ISIS (Daesh) detainees, it has emerged that the YPG also imprisoned children in facilities across areas it occupied.

These practices came to light after the Syrian Army took control of the regions in question.

Anadolu team spoke with children who said they were detained and tortured by the YPG.

Seventeen-year-old Syrian Musa Mohammed Hasan said his brother, cousins, and other adult family members were detained by the YPG on Jan. 3, after one of his cousins unfurled a flag near their home in Raqqa and shared the act on social media.

Hasan said YPG terrorists raided their home in the evening, beat them, and took them into custody.

“They first took us to Raqqa’s Western prison, then transferred us to al-Aktan prison. I was held in solitary confinement there for 10 days.

“During interrogation, I was subjected to severe torture. They hung me by my arms, tortured me, and constantly insulted me. Praying and performing prayers were forbidden,” he said.

He added that he was “suspended in the air by chains from my arms,” kept for hours with his hands handcuffed behind his back, shackled to a door, and subjected to intense abuse.

Hasan said they were denied food and water for days before their release and that there was no electricity in the prison.

Recounting the final days, he said: “In the last days, they gave us a little hummus, there was no bread. We only heard the sounds of explosions. On Thursday evening, we were banging on the doors. At 2 am (2300GMT), someone came to our door. We did not know who it was.

“We thought, ‘They came to kill us.’ They asked who I was, and I told them. They asked about my crime, and I said, ‘Waving a flag.’ He told me, ‘We have liberated this place.’ I cannot describe my joy.”

Hasan said Syrian soldiers worked for about two hours to clear mines around the area, then separated the minors from others, and moved them to another section inside the prison.

After questioning and completing procedures, he said he was released and returned home.

- ‘They made me wear orange prison uniform and recorded me on camera’

Hasan said the YPG accused him of “waving a flag, propaganda on social media, and holding an unauthorized demonstration.”

“They made me wear the orange prison uniforms they put on ISIS (Daesh) prisoners. They told me they would take me to Hasakah.

“They shone a projector light on my face and recorded me on camera. You say what they want, you cannot tell your own story. If you do not speak the way they want, torture awaits you.”

Hasan emphasized that severe abuse was systematic.

“First of all, they strike your private parts. They beat you so badly that you confess to things you did not do. Then they throw you into a cell. In that cell, there is only a blanket and a toilet. We were even forced to perform our prayers facing the toilet.”

Hasan said the YPG oppressed residents in Raqqa after occupying the city in 2017, adding that he was reunited with his family after the Syrian Army regained control and experienced indescribable happiness.

- Cell-to-cell communication with his brother

Musa’s 16-year-old brother Leys was also detained by the YPG and taken to al-Aktan prison. Leys said he was held in solitary confinement for days, beaten, and tortured.

He said YPG terrorists subjected him to “insults and mistreatment,” adding that he and his brother communicated by banging on the walls and calling out to each other from their cells.

“I will never forget the day I was released. We were so happy, like birds reunited with the sky. When I was reunited with my family, it felt like the whole world was mine,” Leys said.

Describing the uncertainty of detention, Leys added: “After you fall into the hands of the YPG, you do not know your fate. Maybe they will keep you for five years, 10 years, as long as they want.”

Their 19-year-old cousin, Khalid Mohammed Mustafa, said many relatives and others were detained by the YPG after he unfurled a flag in a park near their home and shared it on social media.

Mustafa said he was hiding in Azaz at the time.

“After hearing that the Syrian Army had liberated Raqqa, I was in Azaz. That night, I could not sleep from impatience to come to Raqqa,” he said, expressing his joy.