Introduction: Thursday morning, Apr 26, 2018, security forces (Asayesh) affiliated to the Autonomous Administration arrested Fadi Mar'ei, head of the Public Relations Office for the Kurdish Future Movement in Syria, who is also a member of the General Secretariat of the Kurdish National Council of Syria, which is part of the National Coalition of the Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces. The arrest took place near al-Malikiyah city (Derik) located in al-Hasakeh province which is held by Autonomous Administration.
Fadi Mar'ei is one of the Syrian Kurds politicians, born in 1977 in Gundikȇ Șelal village that follows Alyan area in Jawadiyah (Ҫil Axa) town in al-Hasakeh province. He is married with three children, a son and two daughters. He holds a degree in Media from Damascus University. Mar'ei is considered to be one of the founder of "Coordination of Ahrar Alyan" in 2012, and he is one of the contributors of the "General Council for the Kurdish Youth Movement" in Syria in 2013.
He began his political career by joining the Kurdish Future Movement in Syria in 2013, and was elected as a member of the Public Relations Office in Alyan area in 2014, then became the Media Officer for the Kurdish Future Movement in Syria in 2015 at the enlarged meeting held in Alyan.
On Feb 3, 2018, Mar'ei was elected as head of the Public Relations Office in the Kurdish Future Movement after the resignation of Nareen Mateeni. For more than three years, he has been occupying the position of member of the General Secretariat of the Kurdish National Council of Syria, which was founded on October 26, 2011.
First: Details of the Incident
Mehdi Mar'ei, the brother of the Kurdish/Syrian politician Fadi Mar'ei, described to STJ the arbitrary detention process,
"Around 10 a.m. Thursday, Apr 26, 2018, my brother was driving his own car, Kia type, to al-Malikiyah city (Derik), accompanied by his son, his two daughters and his cousin to attend the wedding of a relative. Just before their arrival at the entrance of the city, a white vehicle (van) carrying 7 masked gunmen halted them near the Asayesh checkpoint in the village of Tal al-Sedq, 2 km south of the city. The gunmen surrounded the car from all sides, directed their gun muzzles towards my brother and other members the family, and then took my brother out of the car and cuffed his eyes, after that, they took him to an unknown place."
Mehdi added that the reason of his brother's arrest by the Asayesh Forces and his whereabouts are anonymous.
According to well-informed sources, the arrests operation of Mar'ei and previously Ne'mat Dawood's arrest, Secretary of the Kurdish Democratic Equality Party on April 13, 2018, in addition to Faisal Yusuf's arrest, the General Coordinator of the Kurdish Reform Movement On April 2, 2018, comes after accusations of "treason" directed to members of the "Yekiti" Party and the leadership of the Kurdish National Council(KNC) by the Executive Council in the Autonomous Administration after Afrin battles, demanding to hold accountable those who called them offenders among the ranks of the KNC and explain its attitude concerning the seizure of Kurdish/Syrian Afrin by the Turkish army and factions of the Free Syrian Army.
STJ had prepared two reports, one of them was titled "Appeals for the Release of the Kurdish Reform Movement's General Coordinator Faisal Yusuf", the Arrest Occurred at Dawn on Monday, 2 April 2018, by the Asayesh Forces of the Autonomous Administration. The other report was entitled "Pro-Autonomous Administration Asayesh Forces Arrest Ne'mat Dawood, Secretary of Kurdish Democratic Equality Party in Syria". The Incident Occurred on April 13, 2018, in Qamishli City Several Days Following the Arrest of Faisal Yusuf, Coordinator of the Kurdish Reform Movement.
Second: Denouncement and Rejection of the Arrest of Fadi Mar'ei
In its response to the arrest incident, the General Secretariat of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) of Syria, stated on Friday, 27 April 2018, that the arrest of Fadi Mar'ei falls within the oppressive and irresponsible practices of the authority of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) to justify its failure concerning the disastrous situation in Afrin,.
The General Secretariat had called the PYD for the immediate release of the following detainees: Fadi Mar'ei, Ne'mat Dawood, Faisal Yusuf, Abdurrahman Apo and Fouad Ibrahim, along with all prisoners of conscience in its prisons.
It should be recalled that Faisal Yusuf was release on April 28, 2018.
On other side, the Media Office loyal to the Kurdish Future Movement in Syria, in a statement issued on Thursday, 26 Apr 2018, said that PYD bears full responsibility for the life of Fadi Mar'ei, demanding his immediate release along with all political prisoners. The statement considered the continuation of Fadi's arrest a systematic hostile policy practiced by the PYD against the leaders and supporters of the KNC.
An image shows the statement issued by the Media Office loyal to the Kurdish Future Movement in Syria concerning the detention of Fadi Mar'ei April 26, 2018.
Photo credit: The Kurdish Future Movement in Syria.
In a statement issued Friday, April 27, 2018, the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO) considered the arrest operation to be arbitrary and contrary to the values of democracy and human rights, as well as intimidation of opinion holders and different political attitudes, hence generate situations of injustice and wrath within the society.
Image shows the statement issued by the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO) on April 27, 2018, concerning the detention of Fadi Mar'ei.
Photo credit: the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO).
Furthermore, Adel Center for Human Rights in a statement issued on Friday 27 April 2018, denounced the arrest of Fadi Mar'ei by armed elements affiliated to the Asayesh on a military checkpoint. The arrest violates the rights and freedoms enshrined in the international human rights charters, conventions, and that it does not solve the unresolved problems among the political parties competing within the Kurdish society, which as emphasized in the charters and agreements on peace and human rights, need in-depth dialogue in a atmosphere of freedom, democracy, pluralism, equality and respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens.
In a communiqué Friday 27 April 2018, organizations working to defend human rights, including the Kurdish Organization for Human Rights in Syria (DAD), the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria, the Kurdish Committee for Human Rights in Syria (Observer), the Arab Organization for Human Rights in Syria (AOHR), the Human Rights Organization in Syria (MAF), the Organization for the Defense of Prisoners of Conscience in Syria (Rewangeh), and the Committees for the Defense of Democracy Freedoms and Human Rights in Syria appealed the Autonomous Administration and the Asayesh Forces to uncover the fate of Fadi Mar'ei and his immediate release unconditionally.
This is not the first time Fadi Mar'ei is being arrested by the Asayesh Forces of the Autonomous Administration; he was detained on Thursday, 9 February 2017, on a military checkpoint near Jawadiyah (Ҫil Axa) located in al-Hasakeh province but was released two days later, Saturday February 11, 2017.
Update: On May 6, 2018, Asayesh Forces has released (Fadi Mar'ei).