A verdict has been issued in the case against Hussein Mohammad, who was abducted for ransom by factions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in 202
A verdict has been issued in the case against Hussein Mohammad, who was abducted for ransom by factions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in 2022 from the city of SerĆŖkaniyĆŖ in North and East Syria. After failing to obtain a ransom, the armed group handed him over to Turkey, where he has stood trial since. The case, which was based on the FSAās allegations, was retried before the 2nd High Criminal Court in Urfa after the Court of Cassation overturned the previous ruling. During the retrial, Hussein Mohammad was recognized as being under the age of 18. The court rejected the defense lawyersā requests for further examination of the evidence and found Mohammad responsible for the deaths of three Turkish soldiers, sentencing him to four separate prison terms of 20 years each, totaling 80 years in prison. According to Yeni YaÅam newspaper, Hussein Mohammad, who is currently held in Erzincan High Security Prison, was accused of being responsible for the deaths of three Turkish soldiers allegedly killed by sniper fire. Mohammad was prosecuted on the basis of reports prepared by the FSA. His age had previously been officially increased, while official birth records submitted by his lawyers to the court showed that he was approximately 14 years old at the time of the incident. The Court of Cassation had previously overturned the original verdict on procedural grounds and instructed the retrial court to reconcile the age assessments provided by the Council of Forensic Medicine and hospital reports.
The Free Syrian Army is backed by Turkey, which has colluded with Syria in its genocidal violence against the Kurdish people of Rojava.
They have sentenced a kidnapped child to prison for 80 years based on the account of the people who kidnapped him and held him for ransom, after initially trying to pretend he was older than he actually is.
