Watan-The Syrian child, Ahmed Zeinab, aged 14, was subjected to physical torture in a brutal manner last Wednesday by a group of Turks in the Gaziantep province, Turkey, for a shocking reason.
Activist Taha Al-Ghazy reported that the orphaned child, who lost his mother in the first year after his birth, went out last Wednesday with his friends to play football in a school near his home.
Specifically in the Cumhuriyet neighborhood, they encountered Turkish children of similar age, leading to an argument between Ahmed and another child.
وضعوا في فمه نايلون مشتعل وحرقوا لسانه، الطفل في غيبوبة
تفاصيل صادمة ومرعبة عن الجريمة التي قام بها شبان أتراك بحق الطفل السوري #أحمد_زينب يرويها والده
للعلم تم القبض على الجناة في غازي عنتاب التركية pic.twitter.com/4FmjXDzNLi
— تمام أبو الخير (@RevTamam) January 12, 2024
The Turkish child’s sister reported the incident to her family, and the Turkish child’s relatives arrived, seized Ahmed, brutally beat him, placed him in their car, and took him to a remote area. They continued torturing him using various means, including hitting him with metal objects, pulling out his hair, and placing it in his mouth.
Torture, mutilation, and burning
According to the source, they deceived him into thinking they were strangling him by placing a bag over his face. The perpetrators did not stop there; they burned his tongue, parts of his body with cigarette butts, inserted metal objects (keys) into the anal area, and left him unconscious on the side of the road.
Some passersby found the victimized child, provided first aid, and transferred him to one of the government hospitals in the Gaziantep province.
أحمد طفل سوري تعرض للتعذيب في عنتاب وهذا الاعتداء نتيجة لخطاب كراهية تراكمي
مؤخراً هناك مؤشرات على جدية الحكومة التركية لمحاسبة مروجي الأكاذيب وأصحاب الخطاب العنصري وبيان ولاية غازي عنتاب عن الحادثة جيد وتؤكد فيه إنها اعتقلت الجناة#سوريا #تركيا #Turkey pic.twitter.com/9M83Z4AVTM
— غسان ياسين Ghassan yassin (@ghassanyasin) January 12, 2024
Dr. Ahmed Al-Qazal questioned, in a statement to “Watan,” how and why, under what law, a child is tortured in such a monstrous manner. He also questioned the role of civil society organizations in the face of what is happening to Syrians in Turkey.
Opposition spreads poison
The source pointed out that this is not the first time that the human rights of Syrian children have been violated in Turkey. There have been more than 20 cases, most of them in the Gaziantep and Istanbul provinces.
He continued that most of these violations result from incitement by the Turkish opposition, which spreads poison day and night against the oppressed Syrian people.
ليس من أطـ.ـفال غـ.ـزة التي تتعرض لوحـ.ـشية العـ.ـدو الصـhـيوني .. بل إنه طـ.ـفل سوري ١عـ.ـتدى عليه من قبل الاتراك العنـ.ـصريين .
تعرض الطـ.ـفل “أحمد زينب” 14 عام لحادثة خـ.ـطف وضـ.ـرب مبرح وحـ.ـرق واعتـ.ـد١ء جـ.ـنسي ، حيث اقدم مجموعة من الاتراك “الانـ.ـجاس” في مدينة “عينتاب… pic.twitter.com/YJTT2zv3mw
— إدلب Online (@idleb_online) January 12, 2024
Our source concluded: “We have repeatedly called for withdrawing the file of refugees from the Turkish government, similar to neighboring countries, and handing it over to the United Nations Commission until the suffering of refugees ends.”
Al-Qazal appealed to the Turkish authorities to conduct an urgent investigation, arrest those involved, and called on the UN Commission in Turkey to open an impartial international investigation into the case, seeking justice for the refugees and urging the protection of Ahmed’s family from revenge and abuse.
Arrest of perpetrators
On the other hand, the Governorate of Gaziantep in southern Turkey issued a statement announcing the arrest of two perpetrators in connection with the physical assault and torture of a 14-year-old Syrian child.
Syrians are increasingly exposed to horrific attacks in Turkey, following an inciting discourse against them during the recent presidential elections won by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
مكتب والي غازي عنتاب جنوبي #تركيا يصدر بيانًا يعلن فيه إلقاء القبض على اثنين من الجناة على خلفية حادثة اعتداء جسدي وتعذيب بحق طفل #سوري (14) عامًا pic.twitter.com/3kP7CmtYth
— الجزيرة سوريا (@AJA_Syria) January 12, 2024
There is no accurate count of the crimes suffered by Syrians, amid fear of reporting to the police to avoid forced deportation.”