Syriac Military Council of North and East Syria demands international intervention to release its fighters illegally imprisoned in Turkey

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA — On Tuesday, the General Command of the Syriac Military Council (Mawtbo Fulḥoyo Suryoyo, MFS) issued a statement indicating that the Turkish state and their Syrian National Army (SNA) proxies continue to commit human rights violations in the areas of Syria under their occupation, including looting the property of displaced people and enacting policies to change the demography of northern Syria.

The MFS highlighted Turkey’s flagrant violation of international law by transferring prisoners of war from the MFS and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to Turkey and prosecuting them as criminals, a clear violation of the Geneva Convention.

Earlier this year, Turkey illegally tried three members of MFS in Orhoy (Urfa) for membership in terrorist organization despite MFS not being listed in Turkey — or anywhere for that matter — and sentenced to 7.5 years in prison. Their sentences were recently extended to life in prison for “disrupting the unity of the Turkish state”.

MFS called on the international community to pressure Turkey to release the three men.