Hisên Ebdo Ebas tortured and murdered his wife Hûda El-Elî (26) and his child Azad Hisên Ebas (7) in Kobani (Kobanê) canton in North Eastern Syria on 22 February 2020. The court determined that the perpetrator be “tried on a public platform” to decide his sentence.
After the decision of the court, a platform of Kobani citizens came together to act as a People’s Court on 7 January at Baqi Xido Cultural Centre. The Ministry of Social Justice of the Euphrates Region, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the Assembly and 75 citizens of Kobani and Sırrin came together to decide upon the final sentence of the perpetrator.
The perpetrator, Hisên Ebdo Ebas, was sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of 30 million in Syrian currency. This decision is the first example of a People’s Court in the Kobani Canton area participating in this manner. Nesra Xelil, Co-Chair of the Euphrates Region Justice Council, evaluated the decision of the platform and the femicide rates in the region for Jinnews.
“We define what happened in Rojava as a women’s revolution. We took a platform decision to prevent such murders in Rojava and Kobani. I believe a fair decision was made by the people’s platform”, she said.
The public has given the final decision
“Kobani Canton is an area known as the city of resistance and martyrs. Many women such as Arin, Viyan, and Revan took part in this revolution and died for it. However, in 2020, many women were murdered by men in the Kobani Canton area. The reason for these murders was the male-dominated mentality and the feudal system and structure in society. We have to change this and we have to prevent these killings from happening”, Xelil said.
“In the case of Hisen Ebdo Abbas, our investigations were made by internal security forces and the Ministry of Justice. In the end, the court decided that the public has to decide on the punishment so we shared all the results of our research and the investigation with the public”, she stated.
Xelil: ‘It was a fair decision’
Regarding the social justice courts, Xelil said: “Just as the courts have laws, so do the social justice courts. A platform was organized with the participation of social justice courts and members of the Ministry of Justice, where the perpetrator was prosecuted. Members of the Autonomous Administration Institutions and Councils, tribal leaders, and all civilians in the Euphrates Region took part in the platform. Details about the murder were explained to them. The decision given by the platform was not emotional. It was a fair decision according to the laws of the Courts of Justice and Social Justice”.
Xelil: ‘We will continue to form People’s Courts’
The platform serves an example for a just trial of the perpetrators of the crimes and violence against women, stated Xelil. She added: “The aim of the platform is also to educate the public that the femicides must be stopped. It was our first experience in the Kobani Canton area but we will continue the practice of People’s Courts like this. The establishment of such objective platforms organised by the people of the region is crucial to end the femicides in the region”.
