Syrian man recounts years of horror while in captivity of PKK/YPG terrorist group

By Esref Musa and Ethem Emre Ozcan

TEL ABYAD, Syria (AA) – Ahmad Muhammad al-Hasan, a resident of Syria's Tel Abyad town, Friday said he was kept in captivity by the PKK/YPG terrorist group for four years and subjected to various forms of torture every day because he refused to cooperate with the terrorist group.

“The terrorists say they are pro-democracy, but that's a lie,” he told Anadolu, adding: “PKK is the enemy of people in the region.”

The father of two was detained by PKK/YPG terrorists in May 2019 for refusing to cooperate.

After being held for a short time in a building held by terrorists in Tel Abyad district, al-Hasan was transferred to Ayn Isa town of Raqqa province and kept there for four months.

The PKK/YPG took al-Hasan and other detainees to the Tabka district in Raqqa when Türkiye launched Operation Peace Spring in October 2019.

Al-Hasan, who was held in Tabqa for 24 months, was transferred from here to the central prison in Raqqa, where he was detained for 20 months.

The 25-year-old Syrian was subjected to various forms of torture for four years and was released in May.

Al-Hasan’s father, who lived in Tel Abyad, died while he was in the prisons run by the terrorist organization PKK/YPG.

The young man from Tel Abyad also witnessed human rights violations committed by the terrorist organization PKK/YPG, the poor health and living conditions in prisons, and the executions.

Having recently returned to the village of Durubiyye, which was cleared of terrorism in October 2019, al-Hasan is currently making a living for his family through animal husbandry and agriculture.

- 'Torture during interrogation'

Al-Hasan told Anadolu that the terrorist organization raided his house in May 2019 and he was taken to the so-called military intelligence branch in Tel Abyad.

During interrogation in Tel Abyad, al-Hasan stated that he was asked to cooperate with the terrorist organization.

Al-Hasan said he was subjected to torture almost every day in the prison in Raqqa province, and that he witnessed horrible torture of other detainees.

Al-Hasan said after Türkiye launched the Peace Spring Operation in 2019 in the east of the Euphrates, members of the terrorist group PKK/YPG took about 900 people from Ayn Isa to Abu Gazala Prison in Tabka district.

“This place (Abu Gazala) was bad, with harsh living conditions and brutal torture,” he said.

The young man from Tel Abyad also recalled the painful days when he was kept in the dark cells of Abu Ghazala Prison, saying: “We were tortured here every day for two years.”

“During the interrogation, they put a towel in my mouth and poured water on it. I was beaten with a stick. I had scabies. We got allergy-related diseases,” al-Hasan said, adding that the food served in the prison was always bad and insufficient.

“We ate only jam for a month. In these bad conditions, our teeth fell out. Everyone got hemorrhoids. Our health was in very bad shape,” al-Hasan said.

- 'Girboz killed 21 Syrian prisoners one by one'

Stating that they once tried to start a riot in order to change the poor health conditions and make their voices heard outside the prison, al-Hasan said: "We were staying in underground wards. To suppress the riot, they filled the ground floor with water and electrified it. They also threw hand grenades and opened fire at random."

“That day, a terrorist called 'Girboz' came and called people by their names. There was my name among them, but I did not come forward. Girboz killed 21 Syrian prisoners one by one. They left the corpses in a heap, covered with blankets, in the prison courtyard for a day,” he recounted the horror.

Expressing that the living, food, and health conditions in the prison got worse after the riot, al-Hasan said the behavior of the terrorist guards became more harsh and the food served was cut in half.

- 'We were sleeping in turns in small room'

Saying that they slept in turns in a small room they were held in, al-Hasan said: “There were 120 people staying in a room measuring 9x4 meters. Some of us used to sleep, while others stood. There was always a queue to enter the toilet and we had to step over 50 prisoners to reach the door.”

Al-Hasan also said that after being held in Tabqa for two years, he was transferred to the central prison of Raqqa, where he was again tortured by the terrorist organization.

He said he could not forget the moment when all of his clothes were taken off and he was beaten up naked.

“They would never leave us alone. They used to raid at night. Masked people would enter the wards and beat everyone at random. We endured psychological and physical torture every day.”

Al-Hasan thanked Turkish soldiers for their hospitality and care after his release.

“(Turkish soldiers) treated me well. They made me take a bath. I performed ablution and prayed. They offered tea and food. They said: 'You are our brother.' I cried when I asked about my children,” he recalled.