QAMISHLO -  Representative of the Autonomous Administration of Hewlêr, Cîhad Hesen, who was detained by the KDP for 112 days, stated that they were tortured in a 6 square meter area where they were held with 30 people, and said, “I have never seen the face of a judge or a lawyer. They tried to convince us to spy on our people and make us surrender to them."

 

Cîhad Hesen, the Representative of the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria, who was kidnapped by KDP forces on June 10 in the city of Hewler in the Federated Kurdistan Region, was released on September 29. Hesen, who was deported to Rojava through the Sêmelka Border Gate, told the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) about the ordeal they went through.

 

Stating that he has been the official representative of Northern and Eastern Syria Autonomous Administration of Hewler in the Federated Kurdistan Region for 6 years, Hesen said that he and his two friends went to Hewler Airport on the day of his abduction to meet a delegation from France. Stating that they were surrounded by 4 armored vehicles shortly after picking up the incoming delegation from the airport, Hesen said, “We were in two different vehicles. They pulled a gun on us and got us out of the cars. At that moment I thought there was a misunderstanding. Then we realized that they were coming to get us. I never expected something like this to happen. I am a civilian involved in political activities, but a special unit was appointed to abduct us."

 

Pointing out that the special unit who detained them demanded we deliver another delegation that was coming in that day to them, Hesen said, "You have 4 more guests that will land on 11:00 and you will deliver them to us." They said they didn't know them. I said that there was no way I would do what they want even if they killed us there. When we refused to do what they said, they detained us and said that I would be held for 4 months. I couldn't believe it at first, I thought they were doing it for psychological pressure."

 

THEY WANTED US TO SPY ON OUR PEOPLE

 

Stating that he went to Northern and Eastern Syria many times for diplomatic talks, Hesen said that he was asked why he had been visiting Northern and Eastern Syria. Stating that he was offered to be an agent of a special unit on the first day, Hesen said, “They were offering me to work with them. I refused this. After that, they told me that I was in a structure against the security of Kurdistan. When I asked why, they said, "You brought these people here. You are planning something", referring to our guests. We picked up those guests from the airport and were taking them to the hotel. It was an official visit." 

 

'THEY BLINDFOLDED US'

 

Stating that the first unit that took them handed them over to the public order officers, Hesen said: “A special team equipped with heavy weapons, with their faces covered, put a sack on our heads, tied our hands from behind and threw us behind the vehicle. It was as if they had caught a terrorist group. I had a hard time understanding what they were going to do to us. They took us to the general public security building. The place where they put us was a very bad place. It was easy for them to torture and kill people there. We were Kurdistani diplomats, I was officially there for 6 years. We never did anything to deserve what they did to us. When I asked them why they put us there, they said, “You are expressing the importance of your resistance and your determination that you will never  work with us. Stay here and let your determination grow'.

 

'THEY FAILED TO ACHIEVE THEIR PURPOSE'

 

Stating that the authorities threatened to deport them to Northern and Eastern Syria in the first days of their arrest, Hesen said, "They were saying, 'We will throw you there,' as if Rojava was a bad place. They acted as if people could not live in Rojava, but everyone was prosperous in Rojava. That's how they threatened me. I kept telling them, 'Rojava is my home'. They failed to achieve their purpose of keeping me there. They never took my will into consideration. They said that I was on a quest with our guests against the security of Kurdistan, but the guests were released. On the 50th day, 2 of my friends were released. They wanted to turn on my phone but I did not allow it. They should have respected my privacy and as respect me as a diplomat.”

 

'THEY TRIED TO MAKE US SURRENDER'

 

Stating that the authorities were in an effort to arrest him on the 50th day of his detention, Hesen said: "They claimed that I recruited personnel for the HPG, YPG and SDF. Even though I stated that I have been working as a diplomat for the last 6 years, they still threatened me with deportation to Rojava. On the 57th day, they took me handcuffed to a center to deport me, they made me sign some documents, but after waiting for 2 hours, they took me back to the place where I was held. They told that my documents are not completed and I will be sent 2 days later. When they came 2 days later, they asked for my phone's password again. They wanted to deport me. They were saying that if I had surrendered to them, I would have a better life, a place in Hewler and a homeland. They said they would deport me every time they came to see me in that room.”

 

'I WAS VOMITTING BLOOD' 

 

Underlining that his health deteriorated every passing day, Hesen said: "They gave painkillers to those who had a headache. I was vomitting blood, I could not stand up, I was fainting but they didn't give me any medicine. They tried to get me to submit to them using my health issues. We could not contact our families for the first 40 days. After that they allowed us to call our families and speak to them for 3 minutes every 15 days. Even we could speak to our families, we couldn't tell the truth. We had to say we were ok. Or they wouldn't let us call them. I haven't seen an attorney or a judge in that 112 days. They accused me of being an agent for the PKK. They tried to make me say I was a member of the PKK twisting my words. I had been living there for the last 6 years. It's their problem if they didn't know me. They accused me of various 'crimes'. They were trying to find a reason to arrest me."

 

30 PEOPLE IN 6 SQUARE METERS

 

Underlining that he was held in a 6 square meter room with 30 people. 112 of the 126 people held there caught menge disease. They gave us a pill to stop us from scratching ourselves. It made us go right to sleep."

 

HE WAS HELD WOTH ISIS MEMBERS

 

Emphasizing that his hopes for the Federated Kurdistan Region were destroyed in the face of what he went through, Hesen said, “In my mind, in my thoughts, Kurdistan was never such a place. As a Kurd, my hopes were shattered by what I saw. If anyone had told me before, I wouldn't have believed the things I went through, I would have said it was a lie. We cannot tell most of the things we have seen and experienced here. The Red Cross went there, they saw what happened there with their own eyes. Maybe they'll make a report. ISIS members were staying right next to the place where we were held." 

 

Hesen, who described his experiences as a "crime against humanity", reminded that the Kurds have suffered greatly throughout history, and said: "Saddam inflicted a lot of pain on the Kurds. The people of Bashur faced Anfal and Halabja, we need to learn from those tragedies."

 

 

MA / Nazım Daştan