YPJ fighter Çiçek Kobanê (civil name: Dozgin Temo) fell into captivity of the jihadist militia Ahrar al-Sham in Ain Issa in northern Syria in October 2019. The group is part of Turkey's jihadist proxy troops and is involved in the invasion of Rojava. After her capture, the Kurdish woman from Kobanê, who was born in Raqqa, was taken across the border into Turkish territory. Since then she has been held in a high-security prison in Urfa province bordering Syria. On 23 March 23 2021, the YPJ fighter was sentenced to life imprisonment in Urfa following her deportation to Turkey in violation of international law. Yet, the court in Urfa considered it proven that the young woman had destroyed Turkey's state unity and integrity and committed murders.

The YPJ fighter was not only sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for “disrupting the unity and territorial integrity of the Turkish state” but also to 10 years and 10 months in jail for “deliberate murder”.

On 11 June 2021, the 3rd Criminal Division of Antep Regional Court forwarded the verdict to the Court of Cassation for approval.

As expected, the Court of Cassation has upheld the prison sentence given to the YPJ fighter.

After the capture of Çiçek Kobanê, photos and videos appeared on online networks announcing her imminent execution. The Islamists presented Kobanê as a prisoner and shouted, "To the slaughterhouse, to the slaughterhouse."

During the hearing at the 5th Heavy Penal Court in Urfa on 28 July 2021, Çiçek Kobanê stated she was not involved in armed action but was providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population that at the time of her capture in northern Syria. For the first time she also commented on the background to her injuries and stated that she was shot twice in the leg after she had been wounded when she was captured. Prior to her transfer to the Urfa detention centre, Kobanê had a platinum plant inserted into her foot during an operation. The operation was obviously unsuccessful, as she has not been able to stand up on her own and look after herself since then. It would not be the first time that medical operations on Kurdish prisoners have been deliberately botched.

Çiçek Kobanê's lawyer, Hidayet Enmek, stated in court that there was not a single piece of evidence to support the accusations against his client. Only a transcript of her statement was part of the taking of evidence. In addition, the lawyer again criticised that it was still unclear who had "arrested" Kobanê and how the arrest had taken place. "Nor does the bill of indictment indicate in what way she was injured," said Enmek, and asked the court to request relevant documents from the competent military police.

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