Introduction: Thursday morning, 5 April 2018, pro- Autonomous Administration Asayesh forces arrested several persons from Tell Brak town, located in the north-east of al-Hasakeh city[1], on the background of their participation in a demonstration on the same day against decisions taken by the Education Body of the Autonomous Administration during March 2018. According to the field researcher of Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), several members of the teaching staff along with students participated in the demonstration that came out from the Educational Complex in Tell Brak to express their rejection and protest against certain persons appointed by Autonomous Administration as new organizers in the complex. This prompted the Asayesh forces to break up the demonstration, and arrest 12 demonstrators, being students or teachers.
Fear prevailed Tell Brak a day after the arrests, STJ's field researcher said and referred to the sensitivity of the situation, since the majority of the residents in Tell Brak are Arabs, and those who had been appointed by the Autonomous Administration as new organizers are Kurds. He notedthat some teachers inside the town hid themselves and stopped going to work fearful of any arrest. Furthermore, those who were arrested against the background of their participation in the demonstration are still being held by the Asayesh forces until this day.
STJ had prepared a report previously entitled "Pro-Autonomous Administration Asayesh Forces Arrest Ne'mat Dawood, Secretary of Kurdish Democratic Equality Party in Syria", in addition to another report entitled "Appeals for the Release of the Kurdish Reform Movement's General Coordinator, Faisal Yusuf".
First: where does Tell Brak Lies, When Did Autonomous Administration Control It
Tell Brak is 33 km away from the north-eastern side of al-Hasakeh city. The Islamic State organization, also known as ISIS, controlled it in April 2014, but the People's Protection Units of the Autonomous Administration were able to retrieve it on March 1, 2015. Since then, Autonomous Administration began to establish and manage the educational and civil institutions in the town.
Second: Demonstration and Protest of the Teaching Staff along with Students in Tell Brak
On March 1, 2018, the Autonomous Administration appointed three persons from Qamishli city as organizers of the Educational Complex affiliated to the Education Body in Tell Brak in order to manage the educational affairs and supervise the teaching staff and the curricula of Autonomous Administration. The teacher E. Kh, a member of the teaching staff in Tell Brak, confirmed this and told STJ,
"Following the appointment of these persons, the teachers were forced to undergo Kurdish language courses and a probation in Kurdish curricula. The content of these probation sometimes deviated from religion[2]. Moreover, treatment of the new employees (organizers) was inappropriate and close to the military rule. Therefore, the teaching staff along with the students demonstrated on Thursday morning April 5, 2018, within the institute designated for probation. There were about 1,200 persons including young men and women. Then, the Asayesh forces intervened, broke up the demonstration, and asked all demonstrators to leave the institute and return to their homes. They even threatened the demonstrators to use weapons if they did not obey orders."
Hanan. H, a teacher of the Educational Complex in Tell Brak, told STJ that the teaching cadre was being forced to sit-in on different occasions including the birthday of Abdullah Ocalan, and they were forced to travel to other areas in order to celebrate. She noted that the new Education Body was appointed without any election or poll by the people and was taking new decisions without refer to the Educational Complex in the town. When the teaching staff was fed up, they decided to protest against these actions, but the Asayesh forces of the Autonomous Administration broke up the demonstrators and threatened to use the weapon.
Third: Arrests of Students and Members of the Teaching Staff After Storming Houses
Immediately after the demonstration, the Asayesh forces stormed 12 houses inside Tell Brak, and arrested 12 members of the demonstrators. Abu Muhammad, a local whose house was raided, confirmed this to STJ and said:
"At 9:00 p.m., someone knocked at my door; when I opened it, I was surprised by the Asayesh forces entering without my permission.They entered all rooms, searched them and turned them upside down. Meantime, my son was asleep in his room; they immediately covered his head and handcuffed his hands, then took him to their vehicle. When I tried to ask about why they arrested him, one of them moved me back home and asked me to review the public department of Asayesh forces the following day."
Abu Muhammad added that the next day he went to the Asayesh department in Tell Brak, and met many families whose houses were stormed and their children had also been arrested following the participation in the demonstration, and in this regard, he continued:
"They told us to go back homes and that they were conducting investigations with our children, considering that someone is attempting to tamper with the security and stability in the area. Furthermore, they informed us that the arrested would be released as soon as the investigation was completed and they proved to be innocent. Some families told the Asayesh Forces they would not go home except accompanied by their children, but the Asayesh Forces replied that they would arrest them if they did not obey orders, as a result, everyone went out of the Asayesh department; my son among others are still in custody until this day."
[1] This report was completed on May 1, 2018, and the arrest operations was ongoing.
[2] One example the witness cited is the issue of marriage to just one lady and the prohibition of polygamy, STJ reporter said.