Family members of Çiçek Kobanê expelled from Turkey

Three members of the family of the YPJ fighter Çiçek Kobanê, who was taken prisoner by the occupation forces during the invasion of northern Syria and has been imprisoned in Turkey since, have been forcibly expelled from Suruç to Kobanê.

Three members of the family of YPJ fighter Çiçek Kobanê (Dozgin Temo), who was wounded and imprisoned last October in the course of the Turkish invasion in the self-governing areas of northern Syria and has been held in custody since her deportation to Turkey in violation of international law, have been deported to Kobanê.

According to the Mezopotamya news agency (MA), police officers stormed the workplace of Salih Temo, the father of Çiçek Kobanê, and arrested him and his sons Mahmut (15) and Mustafa (18) on Monday in the Northern Kurdistan border town of Suruç in Urfa province. All three were then deported to northern Syria via the Mürşitpınar border crossing, which is closed for official border crossings. The deportation is said to have been extremely violent, MA reports. Accordingly, Salih Temo was beaten by officials. In addition, almost all his fingers are said to have been broken.  

The remaining family members, who have been living in Suruç since the Turkish-backed attack on Kobanê by the Jihadist militia ISIS in 2014, will also leave Turkey in the next few days. It is unclear whether they will leave voluntarily or have been ordered to do so by the authorities.

Abduction of Çiçek Kobanê

Women's Defense Units (YPJ) fighter Çiçek Kobanê was injured and fell into the captivity of the jihadist militia Ahrar al-Sham/Battalion Darat Izza in the village Mishrefa near Ain Issa on 21 October. The Darat Izza group has participated in the illegal invasion of Rojava alongside NATO partner Turkey and its so-called "Syrian National Army". Photos and videos of the capture of Çiçek Kobanê have appeared on social networks, in which the gangs announced the execution of the fighter.

The jihadists presented the YPJ fighter and shouted, "To the slaughterhouse, to the slaughterhouse." Only after international protests was she transferred to Turkey. She cannot stand up on her own and cannot look after herself.

After her capture, she was taken to the anti-terror department of the police headquarters. In December it became known that the Chief Prosecutor's Office Urfa had brought charges against Çiçek Kobanê and at least 98 other prisoners of war from northern Syria. They are accused of "disturbing the unity and integrity of the state", "membership to an armed terrorist organization" and "intentional murder attempt". They are all being held in various prisons. Çiçek Kobanê was last imprisoned in Urfa. It is not known whether she will continue to be held in the high security prison.