Four Kurdish prisoners held in high-security prisons in Urfa (Riha), Turkey, have been forcibly transferred to different prisons across the country. Among those transferred is Dozgin Temo, also known as Çiçek Kobanê, a former fighter with the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), an all-female militia involved in the Syrian civil war and combating the Islamic State (ISIS).
Temo and three other detainees were transferred without their consent or prior notification to the families on Friday, the Mezopotamya news agency reported. The transfers come amid concerns over prisoners’ rights and conditions in the Turkish prison system.
Temo, whose transfer has attracted particular attention due to her high-profile case, was captured in Ain Issa, northern Syria, in October 2019 by the Turkish-backed ISIS group Ahrar al-Sham during Turkey’s military intervention in the region. Videos surfaced online showing the militants abusing the wounded prisoner and threatening to execute him. Following an international outcry, Temo was handed over to the Turkish military and subsequently deported to Turkey.
In March 2021, a Turkish court sentenced Temo to life imprisonment plus an additional ten years and ten months on charges including disrupting the unity and integrity of the state, membership of an illegal armed organisation and attempted murder. The verdict, which was upheld by the Court of Cassation in May 2022, overlooked evidence that Temo was engaged in humanitarian aid rather than combat at the time of her capture, as evidenced by the fact that she was dressed in civilian clothes in post-capture videos.
