SYRIAN KURDISTAN/ROJOVA

KJK calls on everyone to stand up against Turkish crimes in Rojava: It is time to take action

KJK stated that the Turkish state is committing genocide in North-East Syria, massacring people with warplanes, UCAVs and heavy weapons in front of the eyes of the whole world, and called on everyone to stand up in the spirit of uprising.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 16 January 2025

The Kurdistan Women's Union (KJK) released a statement denouncing the crimes committed by the Turkish state in North-East Syria and calling for an uprising against Turkey’s war on the values and achievements of the people.

The KJK statement on Thursday said the following:

In front of the eyes of the whole world, the Turkish state is committing genocide in North-East Syria and Rojava, massacring the civilian population, women, young people and those fighting for their land with warplanes, UCAVs and heavy weapons. It attacks the lands where Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, Turkmen and Armenian peoples live together, and commits war crimes openly and without hesitation, mainly in Tishrin, Qereqozax, Girê Spî, Tîl Temir and Kobanê.

In recent days, the Turkish state has been targeting convoys, ambulances and the civilian population who are resisting at Tishrin to protect their water and land. Dozens of our people have been massacred since yesterday as our people have been targeted and massacred in front of the eyes of the whole public in a very despicable and reckless manner. We commemorate our martyrs with gratitude and respect and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.

The time for words, statements or appeals is over. It is time to resist and take action at the highest level. It is time for all our people, especially women, to stand up without hesitation and in the spirit of resistance and uprising in Bakur, Bashur, Rojava and abroad.

The Turkish fascist state is hostile to the Kurds and has declared open war on all the achievements and values of the Kurdish people. We call on all our people living in North-East Syria to flow to Tishrin and our people in Bakur to turn every place and space, especially the borders, into a field of resistance. It is the day to claim Rojava and the gains in North-East Syria. It is the day when women and youth must start resistance. Tomorrow may be too late.

We invite all sensitive circles and our friends to take part in this resistance.”

SDF: We hold Turkey responsible for any serious repercussions affecting the Tishrin Dam

SDF calls upon the international community to end its silence regarding ongoing Turkish crimes, particularly the recent massacres at the Tishrin Dam.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 16 January 2025

The Media Center of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) released a statement calling for international action against the ongoing Turkish crimes and deadly attacks against civilians at Tishrin Dam.

“For the second day in a row, Turkish warplanes and UCAVs have targeted peaceful sit-ins near the Tishrin Dam, south of Manbij, where civilians have been demanding an end to the attacks of the Turkish occupation and its mercenary factions. The attacks on the Tishrin Dam have resulted in the martyrdom of six civilians and dozens injured, constituting a clear international crime committed by the Turkish occupation state,” SDF said.

The statement continued: “While we condemn these criminal and barbaric attacks, we hold the Turkish occupation state and its President, Erdoğan, directly accountable for any severe and catastrophic consequences to the structural integrity of the dam caused by these airstrikes that have inflicted significant damage on the dam.”

The SDF stressed that: “Additionally, we hold the Turkish state fully responsible for the ongoing war crimes it continues to commit against our people in the Tishrin Dam area and other regions without any humanitarian or legal deterrence.

We call upon the international community to end its silence regarding these ongoing Turkish crimes, particularly the recent massacres at the Tishrin Dam.”

Şahin: Attacks carried out by Turkey and its proxies on Rojava should stop

DEM Party Amed Provincial co-chair Abbas Şahin said that the attacks carried out by the Turkish state and its proxies on Rojava should stop.


ANF
AMED
Sunday, 19 January 202

DEM Party Amed Provincial co-chair Abbas Şahin told ANF that regimes designed to deny and destroy the Kurds also bring about their own end, and added: "Turkey needs to see this and needs to know that the Kurdish people are not going to give up their achievements."

Şahin said that the policies implemented for a century were designed to destroy and assimilate the Kurdish people, and noted that lessons should be learned from the fall of the Baath regime, that pursued the elimination of Kurds for years.

Targeting what Kurds have achieved

Şahin said that the current dominant Turkish politics is completely positioned against the Kurdish people, and added: "The regime is disturbed by the gains of the Kurdish people in Rojava. For this reason, it is trying to control that territory through its proxies in Syria. Turkey is organizing attacks in order to destroy the gains of the Kurdish people in Rojava. These attacks violate international law, and are totally unacceptable. Turkey is pushing the HTS to ignore the Kurdish identity. But the state itself knows very well that the key to the solution to the problems that have been accumulating for a century is Mr. Öcalan."

Sahin said: "The system established by the Kurds in Rojava is a structure that is a model not only for Rojava but for the entire world. Turkey must now make peace with the Kurdish people. In a place where there is no just and lasting peace, there is no end to policies designed to destroy the other side. We saw this in Saddam's Baath regime. Refusing to find a solution and engaging in war, in the end, brought those regimes to an end. We sat it in Iraq, we saw it in Syria."

SDF: Turkish state is committing daily crimes against humanity in North-East Syria

The Turkish state continues its blatant and overt aggressions against the regions of north and eastern Syria, the SDF said.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Sunday, 19 January 2025

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported that the Turkish state continues its blatant and overt aggressions against the regions of north and eastern Syria, committing daily crimes against humanity through the bombing of villages, populated areas, and vital infrastructure.

In a statement on Sunday, SDF Press Centre said the following:

“On Saturday morning and continuing until midday, the Turkish occupation initiated heavy artillery shelling targeting al-Imam Hill near the village of Khirbet al-Zamala in the countryside of Tishreen Dam. Following the shelling, Turkish occupation mercenaries launched an attack on the al-Imam Hill. Our fighters repelled the attack, eliminating and injuring several mercenaries, and forcing the remaining mercenaries to flee.

The mercenaries attacked another point held by our fighters in the same area. They were met with significant resistance by our fighters, resulting in the confirmed elimination of three mercenaries and injuries to others. Clashes continued into the early evening hours.

When the mercenaries attempted to retrieve the bodies of their eliminated mercenaries, our Martyr Haroun Units targeted three gatherings of mercenaries and their vehicles. These included a personnel carrier vehicle and a pickup truck, resulting in several mercenaries being eliminated and injured, though the exact numbers remain unknown.

Additionally, near Syriatel Hill, our Martyr Haroun Units successfully targeted a tank and a vehicle equipped with a DShK heavy machine gun, causing significant damage. Two mercenaries were also targeted and seriously injured.

On the Deir Hafer front, the mercenaries targeted, using mortar shells, a checkpoint in the area, resulting in injuring one civilian. Our fighters responded to the source of the shelling.”

YPJ and HAT fighters: Each attack by the invaders will end up in defeat

YPJ and HAT fighters, who have been confronting the attacks by the occupying Turkish state for 43 days, vowed that they would never allow the occupation of the peoples' lands.


XWÎNDA DIYAR
QEREQOZAX
Sunday, 19 January 2025

Fighters of the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), YPJ (Women’s Defense Units) and HAT (Anti-Terrorist Forces of the Internal Security Forces) are employing new war tactics as they frustrate the attacks by the occupying Turkish state against Tishrin Dam and Qereqozax Bridge. The fighters, who have been responding to the attacks that have been going on uninterruptedly since December 8, 2024, are inflicting great blows on the occupying Turkish state and allied mercenaries.

Speaking to ANF, fighters from the YPJ and HAT stated that they would avenge the resilient people of North and East Syria.

YPJ fighter Amargî Cûdî, who is taking part in both Tishrin and Qereqozax resistance, said: “The Turkish state is intensively attacking Northern and Eastern Syria. As YPJ fighters, we are duly responding and resisting the attacks at Tişrîn and Qereqozax. Our people also trust their fighters and have started resistance in Tishrin to protect their water and energy resources. With our commitment to the people's faith, we will resist the attacks by the Turkish state and ensure the freedom of our people. All the peoples who came to Tishrin to protect their water and energy resources and to stand with the fighters are the family members of those fighters. Although the Turkish state is actively employing sophisticated technology against the fighters, it has not been able to achieve results. On the contrary, it has suffered a great blow. The attitude of YPJ and SDF fighters is clear, we will not let the occupation pass. Let them know that each of their attacks will end up in defeat.”

Çekdar Kobanê, a member of HAT, highlighted the fighters' persistence in their resistance, saying: “As HAT, we are taking part in the resistance of the YPJ-YPG-SDF fighters in Qereqozax. There is a high level of resistance against the Turkish state’s attacks. We do not allow the invaders to advance even one step. They have seen how heavy the consequences of seeking to occupy our lands are. The fighters in the positions will never allow the occupation of the peoples' lands. In line with the promises we made to our martyrs, we will realize the dreams of the martyrs and protect our people against attacks.”

Fighters at Tishrin: We will resist as long as our people exist

The fighters confronting the attacks by the Turkish state emphasized that they are in good spirits and their morale is high despite the challenges they have been facing.

ANF
TISHRIN
Sunday, 19 January 2025

The occupying Turkish state has been attacking the Tishrin Dam since December 8. Unable to make progress against the resistance by the military forces led by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Turkish state has repeatedly targeted civilians and committed grave war crimes since the launch of their attacks on the area.

Speaking to ANF, the fighters confronting the attacks by the Turkish state emphasized that they are in good spirits and their morale is high despite the challenges they have been facing.

Rojhat Amed, one of the fighters, stated that they have been resisting since the first day of the attacks against Tishrin and said, “The morale of the comrades is very good. Songs are being sung and accompanied by dance, slogans are being chanted and the enemy is being crushed by this resistance.”

Rojhat Amed added, “The enemy has been defeated here. We will resist as long as our people exist.”

Fighter Hemze Shiraz from Afrin stated that they have been waging a vigorous struggle despite all the difficulties and hardships.

Hemze Shiraz said, “We will never give the enemy a chance and we will not bow down before them. We have full confidence in our people and our morale is high. The resistance of our people at the Tishrin Dam gives us great morale. We exist with our people.”

German internationalist wounded in Turkish drone attack at Tishrin Dam

German physiotherapist Jakob Rihn was wounded in a Turkish drone attack on the Tishrin Dam on Saturday.


ANF
TISHRIN
Sunday, 19 January 2025

A German internationalist is among the numerous people wounded in the Turkish drone attack on the Tishrin Dam near Manbij on Saturday.

Jakob Rihn is a physiotherapist from Brandenburg and has been supporting the health committee of the Democratic Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) as a humanitarian aid worker for two years. Since yesterday, he has been participating in the civil vigil, which is taking place in protest against the ongoing attacks by Turkey and allied mercenaries.

Rihn told the Kurdish television channel Ronahî TV that he wanted to document the situation on the ground for a call to end the aggression on the vital dam facility. Two bombs fired by a Turkish combat drone went off in quick succession in the middle of a crowd. Four people were killed and 15 others were injured, some of them seriously.

Jakob Rihn suffered various shrapnel injuries to his face and left side of his body, including his leg, as a result of the attack. He demands an immediate end to the attacks as well as a no-fly zone so that the people there have the opportunity to build a new Syria.

 

ENGGLISH SUBTITLES

Twelve killed and 74 injured at Tishrin in three days

After Saturday’s attack, the number of people killed in Turkish air and drone strikes on the vigil at Tishrin Dam since last Wednesday has risen to twelve, and the number of injured to 74. The autonomous administration fears even more deaths, as the condition of some wounded is critical and they could not be evacuated to hospitals because ambulances were also bombed. On the first day of the peaceful initiative, the civilians partaking in the action were targeted by a deadly drone strike on a convoy. In the days that followed, the Turkish army and its mercenaries also attacked car convoys and the dam. Several people were killed and injured in these attacks as well.

Vigil at the Tishrin Dam under intense attack

The vigil at the Tishrin Dam was launched by the People's Councils in the DAANES – also in solidarity with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are defending the dam against occupation attempts by Turkey and its proxy force SNA.

The Turkish and jihadist occupation forces launched their first attacks on the dam on December 8, 2024, the day of the overthrow of Syrian long-term ruler Bashar al-Assad. Turkey and its allies aim to push the SDF back from the western side of the Euphrates in order to be able to attack Kobanê, which lies to the east of it, more easily. The dam has been out of operation for weeks, leaving almost half a million people in Manbij, Kobanê and other areas of the DAANES without access to electricity and water. In addition, there is a risk of a dam burst due to the severe damage caused by Turkish shelling – which could trigger a disaster with effects as far as Iraq. Nevertheless, appeals to the international community to take measures to protect the energy facility and to end Turkish military violence were largely ignored.

Names of 5 civilians martyred in Turkish attack on Tishrin Dam announced

Qamishlo City Assembly of Martyrs' Families announced the names of 5 civilians who were martyred in the Turkish aerial attack on Tishrin Dam on Saturday.


ANF
TISHRIN
Sunday, 19 January 2025

People from North-East Syria have been holding a vigil at the Tishrin Dam since 8 January to protect their territory alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Women's Defense Units (YPJ) who are confronting ever-increasing attacks by the Turkish army and allied Syrian National Army (SNA) mercenaries.

Residents from the Cizire, Raqqa, Tabqa, and Euphrates cantons are taking turns in the vigil. Meanwhile, the Turkish state and its proxies continue their relentless attacks on the protesters as well as the dam.

While the vigil continues on its 12th day, the people taking part in the action were targeted by another Turkish attack on Saturday.

Following an aerial attack which resulted in casualties, the people who rushed to the scene to rescue the wounded were targeted by a second attack.

The consecutive attacks resulted in the death of 5 civilians and the injury of 20 others.

Qamishlo City Assembly of Martyrs' Families announced the names of the victims, which are as follows: Ekrem Rixo, Kêfo Osman, Menîce Heyder, Mizefer Mihemed and Ebdulqadir Îbrahîm.

In a statement on Thursday, the SDF called for international action against the ongoing Turkish crimes and deadly attacks against civilians at Tishrin Dam.

SDF said they hold the Turkish occupation state and its President, Erdoğan, directly accountable for any severe and catastrophic consequences to the structural integrity of the dam caused by the airstrikes that have inflicted significant damage on the dam.

The SDF said they also hold the Turkish state fully responsible for the ongoing war crimes it continues to commit against the people in the Tishrin Dam area and other regions without any humanitarian or legal deterrence.

Kurdish artist Bavê Teyar wounded in Turkish attack on Tishrin Dam passes away

Kurdish artist Cuma Xelo, known as Bavê Teyar, who was wounded in a drone attack carried out by the occupying Turkish state against the Tishrin Dam on January 18, lost his life.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Sunday, 19 January 2025

The civilians holding a vigil at the Tishrin Dam near Manbij for 12 days have been subjected to repeated attacks by the invading Turkish army since the launch of the action on 8 January.

Two consecutive strikes by Turkish combat drones on Saturday claimed the lives of five civilians and left 20 others wounded.

Kurdish artist Cuma Xelo, known as Bavê Teyar, had joined the vigil on 17 January. The theater actor was seriously wounded as a result of Saturday’s attack and succumbed to his injuries today, bringing the death toll to 6.

Before he was injured, Bavê Teyar said in an interview with Rojnews: "We are not afraid of death, we will protect our lands until the end."

The other 5 victims, whose names were announced by the Qamishlo City Assembly of Martyrs' Families earlier today, were identified as Ekrem Rixo, Kêfo Osman, Menîce Heyder, Mizefer Mihemed and Ebdulqadir Îbrahîm.

The vigil at the Tishrin Dam was launched by the People's Councils in the DAANES – also in solidarity with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are defending the dam against occupation attempts by Turkey and its proxy force SNA.

The Turkish and jihadist occupation forces launched their first attacks on the dam on December 8, 2024, the day of the overthrow of Syrian long-term ruler Bashar al-Assad. Turkey and its allies aim to push the SDF back from the western side of the Euphrates in order to be able to attack Kobanê, which lies to the east of it, more easily. The dam has been out of operation for weeks, leaving almost half a million people in Manbij, Kobanê and other areas of the DAANES without access to electricity and water. In addition, there is a risk of a dam burst due to the severe damage caused by Turkish shelling – which could trigger a disaster with effects as far as Iraq. Nevertheless, appeals to the international community to take measures to protect the energy facility and to end Turkish military violence were largely ignored.

PYD General Assembly member Menice Haco Heyder falls a martyr in Tishrin

The PYD General Assembly announced that the party’s general assembly member and Qamishlo office co-chair Menice Haco Heyder was killed in the attack carried out by the Turkish state on the Tishrin Dam.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Sunday, 19 January 2025

The Democratic Union Party (PYD) General Assembly issued a written statement confirming that 4 civilians were killed in the attack carried out by the Turkish state on Saturday, 18 January, against Tishrin Dam, and added that PYD General Assembly member and Qamishlo office co-chair Menice Haco Heyder was among them.

The statement said: “A systematic attack has been carried out on the regions of Northern and Eastern Syria for 38 days. These attacks target the infrastructure of the region, especially the Tishrin Dam, which is the lifeblood of millions of people in this region. This attack is not only a threat to stability and peace, but also aims to carry out the exploitation plans of the New Ottoman Empire and destroy the elements of life of the people of Northern and Eastern Syria.”

The statement continued: "Despite these brutal and continuous attacks, the SDF and YPJ continue to write heroic pages of resistance every day. The SDF and YPJ derive this resistance from the will of the people who do not accept surrender and support their forces. The resistance carried out so far in the Tishrin Dam is not only a war to protect the region, but also a war of existence and history for freedom and honor.

The Turkish government is attacking civilians who are holding a vigil in the Tishrin Dam. On Saturday, the Turkish state attacked once again and carried out a brutal massacre. As a result, 4 civilians fell as martyrs and many others were injured. All of this is also happening because of international silence. These ongoing crimes are a clear violation of human values ​​and international law, and are new to the genocidal crimes of the Turkish regime."

The statement confirmed that "in addition to the party’s general assembly member and PYD Qamishlo co-chair Menice Haco Heyder, 3 of our comrades were killed.

Comrade Menice was a symbol of struggle and sacrifice. She acted responsibly towards the cause of women and her people in her life. She did not hesitate to serve her people and her cause until the last minute of her life."

The PYD General Assembly "strongly condemn these brutal massacres carried out by the Turkish state against the people of Northern and Eastern Syria, and call on the international community, legal and humanitarian organizations to assume their responsibilities and put an end to these brutal attacks against our people.

We offer our condolences to the martyr's family and all the families of the martyrs of the Tishrin Dam resistance, and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded. We emphasize that the blood of the martyrs will be a light for us on the path to freedom. We reiterate our promise to our people and martyrs that we will continue the struggle and resistance until the goals of freedom, justice and peace are achieved."

Violations against journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan drop in 2024, but concerns remain: watchdog

By: TII team
Date: January 19, 2025

The Metro Center for Journalists’ Rights, Sulaimani city, Iraqi Kurdistan, January 18, 2025. Photo: VOA-Kurdish

SULAIMANI, Iraqi Kurdistan region,— The Metro Center for Journalists’ Rights said on Saturday that violations against press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan Region decreased significantly in 2024.

Released during a January 18 press conference in Sulaymaniyah, the findings reveal a 22% decrease in incidents compared to 2023. Despite this improvement, questions remain about the broader state of journalism in the region.

The report, titled “The Law is Not for Archive, Our Laws Have Changed, but Their Implementation is Still a Stone,” detailed 182 violations against 176 journalists and media organizations last year, down from 231 in 2023. The data includes incidents such as harassment, physical assaults, and other restrictions on journalistic activities. While regional authorities attribute the decline to improved awareness and cooperation between security agencies and journalists, some in the media believe the numbers don’t tell the full story.

Aqid Salam Abdulkhaliq, director of the Kurdistan Region’s security agency, praised the reduction in violations as a significant achievement. “This progress reflects the dedication of our security forces to fostering a better environment for media professionals,” Abdulkhaliq said in a statement.

“In 2024, we worked closely with journalists, holding workshops and seminars to address their concerns and enhance mutual understanding. These efforts will continue in 2025 with plans to create a dedicated communication channel for resolving issues more efficiently.”

However, journalists like Shwan Mohammed caution against relying solely on statistics to evaluate press freedom. “The decrease in numbers doesn’t necessarily mean the media landscape has improved,” Mohammed said. “There are deeper issues at play, including unresolved cases of violence against journalists and a legal framework that often conflicts with the realities on the ground.”

The Metro Center’s findings also highlighted persistent dangers for journalists in the region. Last year, three journalists lost their lives, while December saw the highest number of incidents, with 40 reported cases. Among the recorded violations were 24 detentions without legal orders, 17 instances of confiscated materials, 6 cyberattacks, and 2 cases of damaged equipment. Harassment made up a significant portion, with 103 cases documented, affecting both male and female journalists. Women represented 10% of those targeted.

The report underscores the complex relationship between Kurdish authorities and the media. While there are efforts to support press freedom, unresolved cases of violence against journalists and a lack of accountability for perpetrators remain significant concerns. “We cannot overlook the sacrifices made by journalists in recent years,” Mohammed added. “Many have lost their lives, and their cases are still unresolved. That reality casts a shadow over any claims of progress.”

As Iraqi Kurdistan looks to 2025, media advocates are calling for more meaningful action to protect journalists and ensure accountability. While the drop in violations is a positive sign, they say it must be accompanied by systemic reforms to ensure a genuinely free and secure press environment.

Copyright © 2025 The Insight International. All rights reserved

KRG lacks leverage against Baghdad, says politician Dr. Mahmoud Othman

By: TII team
Date: January 18, 2025

Iraqi Kurdish political figure Dr. Mahmoud Othman, 2022. Photo: Screenshot/Kurdistan24 TV

HEWLÊR-Erbil,— The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has escalated its rhetoric against Baghdad over unresolved disputes, but experts and politicians suggest the Kurdish Region lacks significant leverage to influence the Iraqi government.

Dr. Mahmoud Othman, a seasoned politician and former Iraqi Parliament member, told Voice of America VOA-Kurdish that the ongoing disagreements between Erbil and Baghdad remain deadlocked.

“Both sides blame each other, and there is no mediator to clarify the issues. Baghdad and the Shia factions appear unwilling to resolve these matters, operating with full authority to prioritize their interests over those of the Kurds and Sunnis,” Othman said.

He added that despite KRG threats of taking a strong stance, the region’s internal disunity undermines its position. “Baghdad knows the Kurdistan Region has no substantial card to play, which is why it disregards its warnings,” he noted.

On January 11, 2025, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani held an informal meeting with Kurdish representatives in the Iraqi Parliament and government to discuss the region’s financial rights and entitlements.

Iraq’s Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani visited Baghdad on January 13 to meet with Iraq’s top officials. The discussions aimed to address several unresolved issues, including the alleged withholding of salaries owed to the Kurdish region by the federal government.

The meeting coincided with accusations from the KRG that Baghdad is withholding the region’s financial rights, prompting threats of stronger actions.

Shwan Mohammed, a Kurdish parliamentarian from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), told VOA-Kurdish that the disputes place considerable strain on the Iraqi government. “We are a federal region with land, a government, a parliament, and forces in Baghdad. Any strong stance from us would create serious challenges for Iraq,” he said.

Mohammed revealed that Kurdish lawmakers recently gathered to discuss boycotting parliamentary sessions in protest. He emphasized that the international community must pressure Baghdad to ensure fairness, particularly regarding unpaid salaries, adding, “The numbers prove our claims, contrary to the accusations leveled at the KRG.”

However, internal divisions within the KRG have weakened its position. Parties like the Kurdistan Islamic Union, the New Generation Movement, and the Kurdistan Justice Group boycotted Barzani’s meeting.

Dara Sikaniani, a parliamentarian from the Kurdistan Islamic Union, argued that dialogue is the only viable solution. “Many countries and embassies advise resolving these issues through negotiation. Aggressive rhetoric without actionable plans only harms the people of the Kurdistan Region,” he said.

Meanwhile, analysts point out that financial disputes remain a core issue. Dr. Salam Zubeidi, associated with the Nasr Alliance, told VOA that the problems are rooted in technical disagreements rather than political ones. “These issues stem from past administrations. Meetings between senior officials offer hope for progress,” he explained.

As of January 2025, the KRG has yet to pay December salaries, further straining ties with Baghdad.

But on January 12, 2025, Iraq’s Finance Minister, Taif Sami, announced that full funding for the salaries of employees in the Kurdistan Region for 2024, including December, had been sent.

“The ministry is not responsible for the non-disbursement of these funds to eligible employees,” Sami said in a statement.

She further criticized the authorities in Erbil for failing to transfer the region’s oil and non-oil revenues to Baghdad. “This failure has disrupted the funding process for other provinces across the country,” she added.

(Credit: VOA | Agencies)

Copyright © 2025 The Insight International. All rights reserved

IRAQI KURDISTAN

Environmental group criticizes Masrour Barzani over illegal refineries and factories

By: TII team
Date: January 14, 2025

An Illegal oil refinery in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, December 5, 2024. Photo: K24

Kurdish Environmental Group Criticizes Lack of Action on Pollution Policies

SULAIMANI, Iraqi Kurdistan region,— The Future Organization for Environmental Protection, Ayinde, has expressed frustration over the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) handling of environmental policies, accusing officials of repeatedly failing to enforce critical measures.

During a press conference held Monday at Azadi Park in Sulaimani city, the group criticized Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s recent decisions aimed at addressing the region’s environmental crisis.

The organization argued that these measures, announced after a government meeting focused on environmental issues, merely rehashed earlier policies that have gone unenforced.

“These same decisions have been issued six times before by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Prime Minister, but they have not been implemented,” said Maruf Majid, head of the Future Organization for Environmental Protection.

The organization highlighted worsening environmental conditions across Iraqi Kurdistan Region, pointing to numerous illegal factories and refineries that operate without adhering to environmental standards.

Maruf Majid, head of the Future “Ayinde” Organization for Environmental Protection at a press conference in Sulaimani city, Iraqi Kurdistan, January 14, 2025. 

Photo: Rojnews.news

Majid noted that while the government has pledged to hold non-compliant operations accountable, it has stopped short of ordering their closure.

“There are 238 illegal plants in Erbil alone, according to the governorate and relevant agencies, and none comply with environmental regulations,” Majid said. “The lack of action from the government is deeply unacceptable,”.

Activists, however, argue that the actual number of illegal refineries operating across the Kurdistan Region far exceeds official estimates, highlighting the extensive scope of unregulated activities fueling environmental damage.

Citing Law No. 8 of 2008, Majid called for judicial action against these plants, which could face fines of up to 200 million dinars for their role in environmental harm.

Despite a May 2023 decision to shutter 20 oil plants in Duhok, no enforcement action was taken, he added.

The group also raised alarms about pollution caused by illegal oil refining, which releases 30 hazardous substances into the air due to poor practices. Among the pollutants are 37 chemical compounds linked to significant health and environmental harm.

Illegal oil refineries Iraqi Kurdistan, 2019. Photo: Rudaw

Majid urged the KRG to enforce its existing regulations and take concrete steps to protect the region’s environment.

“This is not a new problem,” he said. “Since 2015, we have seen promises without follow-through. The time for action is now.”

For years, transparency organizations, lawmakers, and international watchdogs have accused senior KRG officials of corruption, particularly in connection with the mismanagement of Kurdistan’s oil revenues.

Despite repeated pledges to combat graft, the government has made little progress in addressing these allegations.

Kurdistan is considered one of the most corrupt regions in Iraq. According to Kurdish lawmakers and leaked documents, billions of dollars are unaccounted for from the region’s oil revenues.

Activists and analysts have warned that without increased transparency and accountability, the environmental and economic issues facing the region will continue to worsen.

The KRG has yet to respond to the allegations raised by the Future Organization for Environmental Protection or to broader claims of corruption.

Copyright © 2025 The Insight International. All rights reserved

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How Turkey’s Peace Talks with Ocalan Could Affect Turkey’s Involvement in Syria

By: TII team
Date: January 16, 2025

Illustrative Image: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with a sign behind him displaying the word “Rojava,” meaning Western Kurdistan (Syrian Kurdistan). 

Photo credit: The Insight International/AI.

Azad Berwerîye (Caleb Fox) | Exclusive to The Insight International

Since the Syrian group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) capture of Damascus near the end of last year, events in Syria have been turbulent. With the former Baath regime fallen, international actors now have their eyes on the region, with their plans for how their involvement in the country could advance their interests.

Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s de-facto government in Damascus has also raised international concerns due to his group’s history of Islamic extremism, on top of the HTS’s persecution of minorities in Syria, like the Druze.

Amidst this uncertainty, tensions have ramped up again between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). With the SNA’s advances into Manbij, the SDF has been fighting back to return Manbij into their jurisdiction, the fighting resulting in several casualties in the conflict.

An explosion following a drone attack by Kurdish SDF forces on a base of pro-Turkey Islamist fighters in Minbij, northern Syria, Rojava. Jan 8, 2025. Photo: Video/SDF/via The Insight International

Several civilians died from Turkish airstrikes on protesters condemning Turkey at the Tishreen Dam on January 8th, and the Dam is at risk of falling apart due to fighting there. Turkey has also raised threats to invade Kobane, where the Kurds repelled ISIS’s invasion of the city, causing the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to raise demands for peace while preparing for the attack.

Meanwhile, in Turkey, peace talks have opened again between Turkey and Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). In October 2024, Devlet Bahceli, the head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and a close ally of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, suggested Ocalan’s release if he is willing to give up the PKK’s arms.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), formerly the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), also met with Abdullah Ocalan in prison to discuss details for a potential peace deal this January. Many of the party’s leaders, including Ocalan himself, have expressed hope for a peace settlement that would benefit the Kurds, optimistic that it will happen soon.

The offices in Ankara are chaotic right now. These events beg the question: Given the past few months’ events, what steps will Erdogan take?

Kurdish PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan arrested on February 22, 1999 by the CIA and Turkish security forces in Nairobi and taken to Turkey. Photo: Turkish govt.

Ocalan started the PKK in 1978 and began its armed insurgency in 1984. After his capture and imprisonment in 1999, however, he began to slowly guide the PKK towards negotiating peace agreements with the Turkish state, with many of them failing and resulting in the conflict continuing further.

His desire for negotiations has continued since then. Afterward, however, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) began in 2012 with hopes of achieving Ocalan’s ideas of “radical democracy” for Kurds and other people groups, including Turks, via success in Turkey’s elections.

The party would take successful steps in this regard, winning 13 percent of the vote in the 2015 general elections and helping it gain 80 seats in parliament. This achievement helped the HDP achieve a firmer reputation as a legitimate political actor in Turkey, earning a position where they could influence Turkish policy to benefit its Kurdish population.

They were also very vocal against Turkey’s attempts to limit the activities of Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State in Kobane during ISIS’s invasion of the city, refusing to support Turkey’s involvement in Syria when the other political parties unanimously approved it.

Unfortunately, Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) limited the party’s activities. They arrested many of the HDP’s regional leaders and supporters, using violence to crack down on pro-HDP protests and criminalizing any HDP involvement in politics

.

Turkish forces and Ankara-backed fighters destroyed the Kurdish statue of “Kawa blacksmith” in the centre of Kurdish Afrin city in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), March 18, 2018. Photo: BBC video.

Worse yet, Turkey also launched Operation Olive Branch in January 2018, where they invaded the Kurdish city of Afrin in northwestern Syria with their proxies, the SNA. The SNA now rules the area, persecuting Kurds and carrying out kidnappings and torture against the populace, with reports of human rights abuses abundant in their territories.

Now, with the recent attacks on the Kurds from Turkey and the SNA, it appears that Erdogan wants to press further into the Kurdish region with military incursions, eager to increase Turkey’s foothold in Syria. Another invasion seems imminent.

At the same time, the recent peace talks with Abdullah Ocalan also reveal a slight change in Erdogan’s political situation in Turkey since his crackdown on the HDP and his invasion of Afrin. For starters, when the HDP rebranded itself as the DEM and ran in the March 2024 elections in Turkey, they regained the Kurdish municipalities.

Despite police intervention to make the leaders step down, they could still hold their positions. Not only did the AKP fail to win the regional election against the DEM party, but the Republican People’s Party (CHP) also outdid the AKP in the regional elections, gaining success in major cities like Istanbul and Ankara.

Pervin Buldan (L), the Kurdish HDP party co-chairwoman with Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, March 20, 2023. Photo: HDP video/via Ekurd.net

Both the CHP and the DEM have worked together in the past against the AKP, and while the CHP is still a strongly Turkish-nationalist party, it has pro-DEM members in its party. This pro-Kurdish leaning in some members has led to some, albeit limited, cooperation with the Kurdish question, such as changing their stance on Turkey’s involvement in Syria from being supportive of Turkish incursions to stating they don’t view Kurdish independence as an issue, noting that the incursion is only a “demographic engineering project” in the 2019 CHP’s Syria Conference.

The DEM’s cooperation appears to have borne fruit. Not only has Turkey allowed the DEM to meet with Ocalan for the peace negotiations, but DEM Party Spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan was also able to briefly speak Kurdish in a meeting with the MHP, Erdogan’s allies, saying, “Hûn bi xêr hatin,” to welcome the MHP members. The Turkish government took no legal action against her for doing so, showing some progress in the recognition of Kurdish identity within Turkey’s borders.

Turkey’s jailed Kurdish leader and PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan (C) meeting with Kurdish HDP party leaders Sirri Sureyya Onder (L) and Pervin Buldan in his prison 2014. Photo: HDP/sm

In addition to the growing Kurdish influence and opposition in Turkey, Erdogan also has his reputation and initial plans to consider in the peace negotiations. After the March 2024 elections, his approval rating fell below 40 percent, resulting from a failing Turkish economy during his presidency with an inflation of around 70 percent. The rising prices in the country have made life difficult for Turkey’s citizens.

Erdogan’s actions to increase military spending might further strain the economy. Turkey’s military spending for defense and security was around $40 billion, and Erdogan plans to expand the expenditure for this year to $47 billion, making it Turkey’s largest investment in its military.

While there are theories that military spending is good for economic development in countries, military expenditure often neglects developments in the social sector of countries. It’s difficult not to see this occurring in Turkey, where the country suffers from a brain drain, intensive inflation, and unemployment while military spending has increased. Erdogan must consider whether his military spending will avert the economic issues that led to his low approval rating and the AKP’s loss in the regional elections.

His approval rating and the growing Kurdish influence matter because of the possibility he might consider attempting to run for a third term. In the AKP’s 8th provincial congress this year, Ibrahim Tatlises, a well-known Turkish singer who performed at the event, asked Erdogan if he would be willing to go for a third term, to which Erdogan responded, “If you’re in, I’m in.” Although the President of Turkey can only run for two terms in the Turkish Republic, Erdogan can run for a third term if he chooses to.

Since the 2017 referendum changed the Turkish government from a parliamentary system to a presidential one while Erdogan was in power, his first election in 2014 doesn’t count as a first term. Additionally, despite being in his second term under the presidential system, he can run for a third term if the government holds snap elections before the end of the second term.

T

urkey’s jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan meeting with Kurdish HDP party leaders in his prison. 2014. Photo: HDP party/FB

Thus, with the recent peace negotiations with Ocalan, Erdogan might consider proposing this: If the DEM party agrees to support Erdogan’s run for a third term, he might consider limiting his plans of incursion against Kurdish forces in Syria, thus sparing the Kurds in Rojava another onslaught for a time.

To run for a third term, he will need to take the demands of the Kurdish movement into account, in addition to addressing economic issues at home that led to his party’s loss in the last regional elections. Choosing to hold off on intervening in Syria could raise his chances of gaining favor with the DEM party and limit his focus on the military so he can focus on remedying further the inflation hitting Turkey, potentially raising his approval rating.

Even if Erdogan chooses not to run for a third term, his decision regarding the peace negotiations could affect his party’s success. While this is uncertain given the government’s recent arrests of five Kurdish officials in Turkey and Erdogan’s firm demands for the PKK to disarm completely, it’s difficult not to see Erdogan at least considering this option given Turkey’s poor economy and the growing Kurdish influence in the Turkish parliament.

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Caleb Fox (Azad Berwari) is a Kurdish speaker and the author of the cultural blog Dengê Çiyayên: Voice of the Mountains, where he explores Kurdish culture, language, and heritage.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

Copyright © 2025 The Insight International. All rights reserved

Cemil Bayik: AKP does not want problems to be solved, but to deepen further

Interview with Cemil Bayik, co-chair of the KCK Executive Council, on the current process regarding the solving of the Kurdish question.


ANF
BEHDINAN
Sunday, 19 January 2025, 07:50

Cemil Bayik, co-chair of the KCK Executive Council, spoke about the current process regarding the solving of the Kurdish question. He said that while Abdullah Öcalan is developing concrete steps towards a democratic solution, no similar attitude can be seen in the AKP government.

After a long period of isolation imposed on people's leader Abdullah Öcalan, recently two meetings took place with him. First the MP of the DEM Party, Ömer Öcalan, and then the DEM Party delegation went to Imrali. During the talks, Abdullah Öcalan pointed out his readiness for the solution to the Kurdish question and the democratization of Turkey. After the visit to Imrali, the DEM Party delegation held meetings and discussions with the parties of the Turkish parliament, thereby creating hope in Turkish society. How do you evaluate these talks and the agenda?

Even though the delegation went to Imrali, the heavy isolation against Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] still continues. He cannot fulfill his role under the conditions of this heavy isolation. If the Turkish state really wants to solve Turkey’s problems, and its most fundamental issue, the Kurdish question, it must end isolation. Rêber Apo’s conditions must change. It is neither moral, political, nor human to ask Rêber Apo to solve these problems while he is in isolation. He assesses the situation in the Middle East and its effects on Turkey and sees that both are facing great problems, and he wants to solve them. He is assuming a historical role in this, searching for a solution to the problems of the peoples of Turkey and the Middle East. Based on this, he issued a declaration. In it, Rêber Apo has clearly formulated his views and perspectives, and he has made it very clear on which basis the problems can be solved.

This declaration, which is based on seven points, made Turkish society breathe a sigh of relief. Because this determined the future of the peoples of Turkey. And that is why we call it a manifesto. Just as Rêber Apo has pointed out his historical role, the Turkish state should also express its thoughts. The state needs to express its ideas and perspectives. In the statement of the delegation that met with Rêber Apo, they highlighted that the position and approach of the Turkish state are still not clear and that this causes suspicion. Just as Rêber Apo did, the Turkish state must clearly express what its intentions are. They must explain what they aim to do and how they will take steps. Everyone is waiting for this. But the Turkish state’s failure to take steps creates suspicion among everyone. These doubts need to be removed.

At the center of Rêber Apo’s declaration lies democratization, the question of how Turkey can become a democratic country. Because as long as Turkey is not democratized, the Kurdish question and other issues cannot be solved. This is commonly known. The current developments in the Middle East are deepening the existing problems. In particular, the Kurdish question is getting bigger by the moment. As long as there is no solution, more serious problems will arise.

There is an extensive war going on in Kurdistan right now. It started with Hamas, continued with Hezbollah, spread to Syria, and made the Baath regime collapse, and now it has reached Kurdistan. Kurdistan will be the ground where the fate of the future will be determined. That is why so many forces are fighting over Kurdistan. Whoever draws the Kurds to his side will get results. Those who do not take steps in this regard will face great problems and serious dangers. That is why Rêber Apo is not only pointing out the problems but also how they can and will be solved. In this way, he takes responsibility not only for the Kurdish people but for all the peoples of the Middle East and humanity.

Against this, the Turkish state must also fulfill its responsibilities. The Imrali delegation said that there are doubts regarding the intentions of the Turkish state, and if the situation continues like this, these doubts will increase. The solution to the problems in Turkey is democratization, but the Turkish state is not taking any steps for this. It does so because if Turkey democratizes, Kurds will benefit more than anyone else. Because they still aim to eliminate the Kurds. This is their mentality, and it is what prevents them from doing anything for democratization. Turkey has reached a critical situation where it can no longer continue as before. Democratization is now the fundamental issue for Turkey. If they don’t do this, they will get even more stuck, and they will take big blows.

This is where Rêber Apo comes into play – he wants Turkey to take steps. He does not want Turkey to be like the last period of the Ottoman Empire. Because what is happening right now in Turkey resembles the last period of the Ottoman Empire. This is a great danger for Turkey. Rêber Apo is fulfilling his historical duty, and the state needs to do the same.

Looking at it, one can see that the tactics and methods of special warfare prominently characterize the whole ongoing process. A lot is being discussed, and speculations and propaganda are being spread. After Abdullah Ocalan gave his message, saying that he has the power to solve the problem, has there been any contact between you and him, or between you and the Turkish state or any outstanding power?

Nobody has reached out to us, and we have not received any messages so far, neither from Rêber Apo nor from the state. We are following the discussions in the press, trying to understand them, but we have not received anything officially. The Turkish state is waging a much broader war against both our people and our movement. On a daily basis, they issue statements saying that they have carried out military operations here, killed so many there, and arrested many more there – so what they basically do is admit that there is no change in the Turkish state. They speak about developing brotherhood with the Kurds, and they speak about a shared, deep-rooted history, but at the same time they never act like that in practice. If they really want to develop brotherhood, then they must take the rights of Kurds as a basis. Whatever rights the Turks have in Turkey, the Kurds should also have those rights. Right now we see that the Turks have all the rights, while the Kurds are being stripped of everything. The state is in practice developing all its plans based on the question of how to destroy and eliminate the Kurds. This has nothing to do with brotherhood; this is complete deception. If they really want to solve the problem and develop brotherhood and unity, they must give up their hostile politics towards the Kurds and change their mentality. Rêber Apo wants them to take the historic opportunity to change their mentality so that they can take steps to solve the Kurdish question. If they do not change their mentality, they will lose. Maybe there are some in Turkey who see this and want to put aside the mentality that denies the existence of the Kurds and wants to destroy them, but this mentality of the state has not changed. This is what is seen in practice.

Some people may think that a message or a letter from Rêber Apo has reached the PKK, but there is no such thing. And also, there has been no change within the Turkish state so far. We follow the developments in the press like everyone else. The Turkish state continues its attacks; we continue our struggle, and we will continue until the end. If this mentality does not change, if Rêber Apo’s conditions do not change, if a commission is not established in the Parliament as Rêber Apo proposed, if the constitution is not amended, we will continue our struggle. Because the Turkish state is attacking us every day with all kinds of weapons. How could we simply stop under these circumstances? Of course, our struggle continues.

The seven points in the declaration created hope in Turkish public opinion. But the AKP government, Erdoğan, his media, and some AKP officials are using ugly and provocative language. Where is this language taking Turkey, and what kind of situation does it create in society?

As I mentioned at the beginning, when Rêber Apo issued the declaration, society in Turkey was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Rêber Apo spoke to the delegation that visited him and told them to meet all parties in the parliament and to get their opinions on the current developments. He said that he is practically and theoretically capable of solving this issue. So, based on this, the delegation met with the other parties of the parliament and approached the parties that had doubts positively and made their statements accordingly. They said that if the state and the AKP are really sincere and want to solve the Kurdish question, they are ready to help; there is no problem in this regard. This shows that there have been some changes in Turkish politics. It was not like this in the past; the dominant mentality in Turkish politics was not to accept the bare existence of the Kurdish people. But now it is clear from their statements that they also want this issue to be solved. This is important. A new politics is developing, and there are discussions on this. This is positive. But when we look at the AKP, it is different. After the delegation met with them, they said, "We had a chat." In other words, they approached it in a non-serious way, as if they were mocking. We understand from this approach that the AKP has no aim of solving the Kurdish question or democratizing Turkey. If they had such a goal, they would not have used such language; they would have approached it seriously. All the other parties were more serious; they expressed their views and criticisms. But the AKP mockingly says, “We just had a chat.”. Tayyip Erdoğan and some of his AKP officials want to deepen the problems in Turkey, not solve them. That is what their statements and actions are based on. They want to create a perception in society.

They say about the PKK and Rêber Apo that there is no other way left: "They have to surrender. They have to bury their weapons, and if they don’t, we will bury them with them”. They don’t talk about anything other than death and killing. Would they use such language if they were aiming for a solution? Both AKP and Erdoğan do this deliberately. It is a lie that the PKK has no other path; on the contrary, new paths have opened, bigger paths than before, and the PKK can now move and work in more and various ways than it has before. The role of the Kurds and the PKK is now much bigger than before. They should not fall into heedlessness. They are the ones who will be buried in the ground if they continue like this. The situation they are in shows this. The language used by AKP and Erdoğan is the language of war. It is not the language of peace and brotherhood. It is not a language that will solve any problem. It is not like they are just making propaganda or that they are giving a message to their base. Basically, they want to eradicate the Kurdish question through violence, terror, and massacre. All their speeches are about killing. They don’t talk about anything else. This language does not serve a solution. The people of Turkey need to see this. Turkey’s intellectuals, artists, academics, and people who truly love Turkey must see this and stand against it. It is in everyone’s interest to solve the Kurdish question. That is why this language must not be used and why this mentality must end. A solution is in the interest of Turkey and even the AKP, but if they continue like this, they will lose a lot, and so will Turkey as a whole.

Turkey probes Istanbul Bar Association over alleged ‘PKK propaganda’

By: TII team
Date: January 15, 2025

The Istanbul Bar Association headquarters, Istanbul, Turkey, 2024. Photo: istanbulbarosu.org.tr

ISTANBUL,— Turkish prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against the Istanbul Bar Association, accusing it of spreading “terrorist propaganda” after the organization called for an investigation into the deaths of two Kurdish journalists in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), the Turkish Bar Association confirmed Tuesday.

According to Erinc Sagkan, head of the Turkish Bar Association, the Istanbul prosecutor’s office has initiated legal action to remove the Istanbul Bar Association’s president, Ibrahim Kaboglu, along with the association’s executive board.

The legal proceedings follow the bar’s demand for an investigation into the deaths of Nazim Dastan, 32, and Cihan Bilgin, both Kurdish journalists from Turkey’s southeastern region.

The pair killed on December 19, 2024, when their vehicle was reportedly struck by a Turkish drone in Syrian Kurdistan, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The strike reportedly occurred amid clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed group led by Kurdish fighters, and Ankara-backed Syrian Islamist militias.

Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency within Turkey.

Kurdish journalists, Nazim Dastan (right) and Cihan Bilgin killed in Syrian Kurdistan by a ‘Turkish drone’, December 19, 2024. Photo: Firat News Agency/ANF/The Insight International

Dastan and Bilgin worked for Rojnews and ANHA, two media outlets tied to the Syrian Kurdish community. Their deaths were condemned by the Turkish Journalists’ Union.

In a statement at the time, the Istanbul Bar Association denounced the attack, calling it a violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions. The organization demanded a thorough investigation into what it described as “the murder of two of our citizens.”

However, Turkish prosecutors accused the bar association of promoting terrorism and disseminating false information, citing alleged ties between the journalists and the PKK.

In response, the Istanbul Bar Association called the lawsuit “legally baseless” and stated that its leadership was acting in accordance with the Turkish Constitution, democratic principles, and the rule of law.

Sagkan criticized the move as part of a broader campaign to suppress dissent. “The methods may vary, but for the past 50 years, the government’s supporters have consistently sought to pressure and silence those they perceive as opposition,” he said in a post on X.

(Credit: AFP)

No justice for journalist Hrant Dink 18 years after his murder

On 10 January, just nine days before the 18th anniversary of the murder of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, a court decided to apply the statute of limitation to one of the trials for the killing of the journalist.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Sunday, 19 January 2025, 08:33

Seven members of a far-right group from Trabzon, including Ogün Samast, the man who shot Hrant Dink on 19 January 2007 and was convicted of the murder in 2011, were due to stand trial for complicity in the journalist’s murder, committed “in the name of an illegal organisation without being part of it”. Yet on 10 January, just nine days before the 18th anniversary of the murder of Turkish Armenian journalist, the accused benefitted from a statute of limitations and were spared trial.

Prominent Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was murdered in Istanbul on 19 January 2007.

He was Agos newspaper editor and had written and spoken at length about the 1915 Armenian Genocide. He was well known for his efforts for reconciliation between Turks and Armenians.

At the time of his death, he was on trial for violating Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code and "denigrating Turkishness".

Dink was assassinated in Istanbul at around 12:00 GMT on 19 January 2007 as he returned to the offices of Agos.

The killer was reported to have introduced himself as an Ankara University student who wanted to meet with Mr. Dink. When his request was rejected, he waited in front of a nearby bank for a while. According to eyewitnesses, Dink was shot by a man of 25 to 30 years of age, who fired three shots at Dink's head from the back at point blank range before fleeing the scene on foot. According to the police, the assassin was a man of 18 to 19 years of age. Two men had been taken into custody in the first hours of the police investigation, but were later released.

One day after the assassination, the police announced that the shooter had been identified from video footage collected through both the Istanbul MOBESE electronic surveillance network (4,000+ cameras throughout the city) and local security cameras. They later released photos to the public while urging every citizen to aid with the investigation.

News agencies reported that the shooter had been identified as "Ogün Samast", a teenager born in 1990 and registered as residing in Trabzon.

Samast's father identified him from the publicly released photos and alerted the authorities. Six people, including Samast's friend Yasin Hayal, who had been involved in a bombing of a McDonald's restaurant in Trabzon in 2004, were taken into custody and brought to Istanbul.

On 25 July 2011 Samast was convicted of murder and possession of arms by the Heavy Juvenile Criminal Court. He was sentenced to 22 years and 10 months in prison.

On 16 January 2012, Istanbul 14. Heavy Criminal Court ruled that there was no conspiracy behind the assassination and stated that the murder was an ordinary killing. Yasmin Hayal was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, while two other men were found guilty of assisting him and sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison."

In 2013, a secret witness told prosecutors of JITEM and Gendarmerie involvement in Dink's murder.

On 12 January 2015, arrest warrants were issued for two police officers, making them the first public servants arrested in the investigation.

A Turk convicted of aiding and abetting the murder of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink has begun serving his prison sentence after years on the run. Ahmet Iskender was found guilty by an Istanbul court in 2012 of helping the ultranationalist Ogün Samast, who was convicted of the murder of Armenian paper Agos editor-in-chief Hrant Dink. Iskender received twelve and a half years in prison because he disposed of the murder weapon, gave the assassin money and provided him with his telephone. This sentence was confirmed by the Turkish Court of Cassation in 2013. In 2019, he was given another two years in prison for membership of an armed terrorist organization.

However, Ahmet Iskender, who was arrested together with the assassin and three other accomplices a few days after the murder of Hrant Dink on January 24, 2007, had already absconded abroad shortly after his release from custody in July of the same year.

In 2015, it emerged that he was staying in Belgium. In early March, the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry then announced that it had apprehended Ahmet Iskender in the capital Bishkek on February 26.

The 38-year-old used a forged identity card and driver's license to identify himself and was subsequently arrested for illegal possession of weapons, organized crime and document forgery.

Samast released in 2023

Ogün Samast, who killed Hrant Dink, was released on 15 November 2023.

Samast was caught at Samsun bus terminal on 20 January 2007 and sent to prison on 24 January 2007. In February 2023, he was transferred from Kandıra F Type prison to Bolu F Type prison. The prison administration decided to release Samast on the grounds of his "good behavior".

PATRIARCHY IS FEMICIDE & CHATTEL SLAVERY

‘They marry girls off because they are a burden’: The battle to save Bangladesh’s child brides

Tom Parry
Sun 19 January 2025

In Bhola, 56 per cent of girls were forced into marriage before completing secondary school - Simon Townsley/The Telegraph


Kneeling on the carpet in a schoolroom made of battered metal sheets, the beaming pupils sing with infectious gusto.

Though all are from families struggling to survive in one of Bangladesh’s most vulnerable locations, the children are dressed impeccably, and their behaviour is equally irreproachable.

As I watch these earnest students recite their teacher’s blackboard instructions by rote, they look like the embodiment of adorable innocence.

Outside the gaudily painted classroom, however, the harsh reality is that some of these 10-year-olds will be married off before they reach 16.

Here on the silt island of Bhola, the majority of the 19 girls in the class are at the mercy of a tradition which means they will be given away by their families well before adulthood.

Many of the schoolgirls will be given away by their families well before adulthood - Simon Townsley/The Telegraph

A recent study conducted by the Bangladesh-based NGO BRAC – which provides primary education for many of the nation’s children, including in Bhola – found that over 60 per cent of families there are practising child marriage.

According to its survey of 50,000 households conducted across the country last year, 56 per cent of girls were forced into marriage before completing secondary school.

In the worst-affected district of Pirojpur, close to Bhola, 72.6 per cent of girls were married off by their families before the legal minimum age of 18.

This systemic problem in Bangladeshi society is one of the main reasons why BRAC invests so much in education.

The charity, which is the largest organisation of its kind globally with 90,000 employees, believes that by preventing children from dropping out of school in places like Bhola, it can reduce the prevalence of child marriage.

Bangladesh-based NGO BRAC provides primary education for many of the nation’s children - SImon Townsley/The Telegraph

BRAC spokesperson Nafisa Islam explains that even though the girls are most vulnerable to being married off at secondary school age, there is equal focus on keeping boys in education.

Traditionally, many boys leave before they reach their early teens so they can support their families through work, often fishing or farming. This means that as the boys near 18 their families seek out a younger bride, in keeping with tradition.

“By solving the drop-out rate, we should arrest the prevalent problem of child marriage in Bangladesh,” Nafisa states, sitting next to me at the edge of the classroom.

“Until now, the drop-out rate has been high because they can see that education will not add much value to their lives.”

In Bhola, around 14 per cent of pupils drop out before the age of 11, often because extreme cyclones mean families are compelled to send children to work to cover the cost of rebuilding their homes.

In Bhola, around 14 per cent of pupils drop out of education before the age of 11 - Simon Townsley/The Telegraph

Bhola, one of the nation’s river islands – known as chars – is only six feet above sea level at its highest point. Its towns have witnessed an influx of people forced to leave places which are now impossible to cultivate.

For many girls, there is no chance of even starting education. According to BRAC, 1.5 million primary-aged girls are not enrolled in school in Bangladesh.

The families of the primary school girls receive a small stipend as a way of encouraging them to keep their children at school. This donation enables families to withstand additional costs incurred by ongoing learning.

At the school, the cohort of 25 children all live within a ten-minute walk of the small classroom, in keeping with BRAC’s policy of keeping schools are as accessible as possible.

At its peak, in 2009, the BRAC network had 64,000 schools and 1.8 million students.

Nine-year-old student Hasna Bibi Ussa wants to become a teacher - Simon Townsley/The Telegraph

What is striking about all of the children I talk with is their ambition.

Hasna confidently proclaims her desire to become a teacher, while her friend Samiya is insistent that she will one day leave Bhola to train as a doctor.
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Habib declares that unlike his father, who grows rice on a small plot, he will become an officer in the Bangladeshi Army.

Whether reality conforms to their expectations will only become clear in the coming years.

Their teacher Bibi Kulsum, 38, is more grounded in the aspirations she holds for her students. Nonetheless, she has observed considerable progress over the two years she has headed up the programme.

Teacher Bibi Kulsum says she has observed considerable progress in the two years at the programme’s helm - Simon Townsley/The Telegraph

“When I started the drop-out rate was really high here,” she says. “It has got better, but most of the girls still get married off too early. During Covid, child marriage was even more prevalent.

“Sometimes we are able to protest to their families, or even report it to the police, and some then come back. Others just disappear, and we never see them at school again.

“Most of this is caused by poverty. They want to get their girls married off because they feel like they are a burden.

“I feel like I have an important role to play here and want to continue to offer these children something different.”

Parents gathered outside the school for our visit are gushing in their praise.

Parents gather outside the school, including Nurjahan Begum, in orange - Simon Townsley/The Telegraph

Although perhaps intimidated by the presence of authority figures in the audience, they insist their children will not be married off early.

“I want my daughter to be educated and then to get a job before she is married,” proclaims one mum, Nurjahan Begum, 35, whose husband is a farmer. “I wish I had had a chance to get a job when I was young. I want my daughter to be able to achieve what I could not in her life.”

Nurjahan’s positive views justify the policies of Safiqul Islam, director of BRAC’s education program for 34 years.

When he started out in the 1980s, 40 per cent of Bangladesh’s primary-age children were not in school.

As a result, the charity has spent decades renting one-room schools in every village to eliminate travel problems.

Students’ neatly placed shoes outside the BRAC School - Simon Townsley/The Telegraph

School hours are adjusted to fit families’ needs, especially during harvest periods, and local women are trained to be teachers, rather than bringing in people from outside.

Another solution has been to provide floating boat schools which drop anchor in remote communities impossible to access by road and often flooded.

As Bangladesh endured the longest school lockdown in the world during the Covid-19 pandemic, BRAC introduced an accelerated learning programme to bring pupils back up to speed, backed by Danish philanthropic body the Hempel Foundation and UK government funding.

For Hasna and Samiya, the schoolroom’s frail walls, although defenceless against cyclones, are a refuge. What happens when they leave is less certain.