Derik
Ishtartv.com
- persecution.org
06/11/2021
Syria (International
Christian Concern) – Assyrian activist, Husam Alkass, was abducted and
later released by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), according to the
Assyrian Policy Institute. Alkass, who was a member of the Assyrian Human
Rights Network, was captured in Derik (Al-Malikiyah), located in northeastern
Syria near the Turkish border.
Alkass was abducted on June 3 and
later released on June 4. His whereabouts were unknown during his capture.
Prior to his abduction, he was known for documenting human rights violations
committed by the de facto Kurdish authorities. According to Anadolu Agency,
Alkass was kidnapped and beaten by a group of masked men while he was returning
to his car from shopping that afternoon.
Al-Malikiyah has a rich history
of Assyrian heritage, with its indigenous inhabitants fleeing to Syria the
Assyrian Christian genocide from Turkey. The city is now occupied by the
terrorist group. The PYD has links to the perhaps more well-known Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK), which operates in Turkey and Iraq. The terrorist group
closed all Syriac-Assyrian schools in Al-Malikiyah in August 2018, claiming
they did not have the correct licenses. The closure was widely seen as
repression of the Assyrian minority groups.
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