Killers of Kurdish family in Jindires handed death sentences
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Four suspects involved in the murder of a Kurdish family of four in the town of Jindires near Afrin in northern Syria have been handed punishments by a Syrian opposition government court, with three sentenced to death and one to prison, an informed source told Rudaw on Thursday.
A court belonging to the opposition’s Syrian Interim Government sentenced three suspects to death and another to three years in prison for murdering a Kurdish family of four in Jindires, Yasmin Mustafa, the mother of one of the victims, told Rudaw’s Hussein Omar.
Mustafa lamented that Ali Khalaf al-Khasham, the suspect accused of being the main perpetrator of the killings, was only handed a three year sentence despite numerous witnesses testifying against him.
In March of 2023, four Kurds were killed and two wounded in Jindires while attempting to light a bonfire in celebration of Newroz, the Kurdish New Year.
The victims were killed when gunmen from the Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sharqiya opposition militia in northwest Syria opened fire on the group. The militia is known for various human rights violations and assassinations of Kurds in the country.
In 2021, the US Treasury sanctioned the Turkish-backed militia group accused of assassinating Kurdish female politician Hevrin Khalaf in 2019.
The statement at the time accused the militia of having “committed numerous crimes against civilians, particularly Syrian Kurds, including unlawful killings, abductions, torture, and seizures of private property” as well as having recruited former Islamic State (ISIS) members into its ranks.
Afrin was a predominantly Kurdish area of northwestern Syria. It was largely unscathed by the country’s conflict until Turkey’s 2018 operation to oust Kurdish armed forces. The area is now under the control of Turkish-backed groups.
A court belonging to the opposition’s Syrian Interim Government sentenced three suspects to death and another to three years in prison for murdering a Kurdish family of four in Jindires, Yasmin Mustafa, the mother of one of the victims, told Rudaw’s Hussein Omar.
Mustafa lamented that Ali Khalaf al-Khasham, the suspect accused of being the main perpetrator of the killings, was only handed a three year sentence despite numerous witnesses testifying against him.
In March of 2023, four Kurds were killed and two wounded in Jindires while attempting to light a bonfire in celebration of Newroz, the Kurdish New Year.
The victims were killed when gunmen from the Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sharqiya opposition militia in northwest Syria opened fire on the group. The militia is known for various human rights violations and assassinations of Kurds in the country.
In 2021, the US Treasury sanctioned the Turkish-backed militia group accused of assassinating Kurdish female politician Hevrin Khalaf in 2019.
The statement at the time accused the militia of having “committed numerous crimes against civilians, particularly Syrian Kurds, including unlawful killings, abductions, torture, and seizures of private property” as well as having recruited former Islamic State (ISIS) members into its ranks.
Afrin was a predominantly Kurdish area of northwestern Syria. It was largely unscathed by the country’s conflict until Turkey’s 2018 operation to oust Kurdish armed forces. The area is now under the control of Turkish-backed groups.