Since its occupation of Afrin on March 18, 2018, the Turkish state has continued to commit all kinds of crimes against the people of Afrin. The Turkish state tortures hundreds of people it has thrown into prison for various excuses. A woman named Sara, who escaped from a prison under the control of the Turkish state-led gangs, spoke of the prison practices of the gangs.

Sara, who crossed from Afrin into Kobanê through smugglers, said that the Turkish state has committed incredible crimes in Afrin since April 2018. Sara remarked that she was accused by the gangs of collaborating with SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), and that the gangs raided her house and arrested her.

Sara explained her experiences with the following words: “After shutting my eyes, they first took me to Kilis and brought me to a court. Then they put me in a prison in Afrin. In this prison, men and women were brutally tortured. Many people had their bones broken under torture. They were perpetrating atrocities including electric torture and excoriation.”

'I SAW BEHEADINGS OF 4 TEENS WITH MY OWN EYES'

Noting that she witnessed the gangs cutting off the heads of the young people in the prison she stayed in Kilis, Sara said, “With my own eyes, I saw the gangs behead 4 young people aged 25-30 in Kilis. The youth were accused of being members of the Afrin Internal Security Forces. An old man died because he could not endure torture."

Stating that the gangs did not provide enough food and water for five months in the prison, Sara expressed that they were given dirty meat and moldy bread.

"THEY USED TO TELL TORTURING KURDISH WOMEN IS PERMISSIBLE"

Stating that the gangs constantly attacked women in the prison, Sara emphasized that the gangs of Sultan Murat and Ahrar al-Sham, affiliated with the Turkish state, made it permissible to torture Kurdish women. Sara told that she witnessed the torture of a woman from the village of Badîna, adding; “They hung the woman by her feet. They tortured her until she was mentally unstable. The woman's mouth and face were covered in blood”.

Noting that gangs also used children to serve them, Sara unveiled that, "About 50 children between the ages of 5 and 12 were used to serve gangs."

Regarding her release, Sara added, “When their accusations against me failed, they released me. After I was released, I decided that Afrin was not a safe place. That's why I sought ways out of Afrin. I was very afraid of being arrested and tortured again. I came as far as Kobanê together with the smugglers."

Calling on the people of Afrin, Sara said that nobody should return to Afrin until it is liberated.