Muhammed Mahmud Derviş, who is imprisoned in Kırşehir Type S Prison, has been looking for his family for years. Trying to hold on to life despite the tortures he has been subjected to since 2015, Derviş's 8 years of experience reveals the brutality of the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), as well as the inhumane treatment in Turkish prisons.

 

THE FIGHT AGAINST ISIS

 

Derviş's story, born in Damascus, Syria, began when he joined the PKK. In 2014, when he was 20 years old, he went to Shengal, which was the target of attacks, to fight against ISIS. Fighting against the attacks for 6 months with the Ezidis, Derviş turned his direction this time to the city of Kobanê in Northern and Eastern Syria, which was the target of ISIS attacks. Derviş was injured when a bullet hit his neck during the clashes that broke out here.

 

DERVIŞ WAS BURIED ALIVE IN THE GAUGE

 

Derviş, who went to his family in Moscow for treatment at that time, had 3 operations due to his paralysis and was kept in hospital for 6 months. Derviş, whose lip completely fell out due to a bullet wound, underwent surgery on his lip three times. Completing the treatment, Derviş returned to Northern and Eastern Syria in 2015. Derviş, who was detained by the FSA in Afrin, which was besieged in 2018, had his right leg amputated below the knee, and all his teeth were extracted by torture. Derviş, who was buried alive by the FSA and remained in the grave for days, was handed over to the soldiers on the Turkish border after he was taken out alive. The soldiers took Derviş to the Iskenderun State Hospital. It is estimated that Derviş was known as dead by his family after the torture footage was published on social media.

 

SAVED THANKS TO THE NURSE

 

Derviş, who was not given the blood he needed in the hospital where he was taken for treatment, held on to life when a nurse extended his helping hand. Derviş, who still has tens of bullet wounds, stab wounds and cuts that still have permanent scars on his body, still suffers from memory loss due to torture. Derviş, who was released from the Iskenderun Prison, where he was held for one and a half years after being brought to Turkey, was detained a few days later in 2016 in the Silopiya district of Şırnak as a result of a tip-off and arrested again.

 

ISIS VIOLENCE IN HATAY PRISON

 

Derviş, who was sent to Hatay Type T Prison, was forced to be held there for 3 years in the dormitories where ISIS members were also present. Derviş, who received an aggravated life sentence in this process, told the lawyers of the Human Rights Association (İHD) who visited him years later that he was beaten "every day, every minute, every second" by the ISIS members in prison, and that his skin was "stapled".

 

EL-NUSRA TORTURE IN TÜRKOĞLU PRISON

 

Derviş, who was transferred to Maraş Türkoğlu No. 2 Type L Closed Prison in May 2022, was forced to be held in the ward where Al-Nusra members were staying this time. Dervish's arms were cut by members of Al-Nusra with fruit knives. After a while, Derviş was able to go to the ward where the political prisoners were, and with the help of the prisoners, he began to meet their needs, access their medicines and make relevant applications. Derviş was subjected to insults by the doctor to whom he was taken for the treatment of his teeth, which he lost through torture, and was not treated. Derviş, who was sent to Kırşehir Type S Prison after a while, has difficulty speaking because he has no right cheek. Derviş is not sent to the hospital despite the severe health problems he has suffered due to the inhumane tortures he has been subjected to.

 

DERVİŞ: I HAVE SEEN ALL KINDS OF TORTURE

 

Derviş wrote to the Human Rights Association (İHD) in April: “As a result of the lies of the confessors, they gave me a life sentence. I have seen all kinds of persecution." Derviş also called for "Please help me find my family" in his letter. Derviş, who does not have a legal representative or guardian, is also sued if any person sends money.

 

CALL TO CONTACT THE FAMILY

 

Derviş explains that his father is a dissident Kurdish poet from Qamishlo, all his property was confiscated after he was arrested by the Assad regime in 2005 and they immigrated to Belgium with his family. Derviş informed that his parents lived in Brussels, Belgium, and wanted his call to be heard in order to be able to contact them.

 

'EITHER CONFESS OR WE WILL NOT MAKE HIS TEETH'

 

Derviş told his experiences to lawyer Ömer Faruk Yazmacı, a member of the İHD Prisons Commission, who visited him in May. Yazmacı informed that Derviş was exposed to the threat of "either confession or we will not make his teeth" in the hospital he was transferred to while he was in Hatay. Stating that Derviş was deprived of his right to chat, read and workshop in Kırşehir Prison and also said that the clothes sent were not given to him because he did not have a guardian, called for awareness of the public.

 

MA / Fırat Can Arslan