Ayman Altahri* was kidnaped 23rd of September by the Kurdish protection Units near Tal Abyad. All though Ayman suffered from diabetes type A, he was tortured, denied food and his medicine. His diabetes reached 1000 mg in “Albawaba” prison. The health stage of Ayman worsened every day until he fell in a coma. Ayman died in the hospital in Tal Abyad 27th of September.
Ayman Altahri* was kidnaped 23rd of September by the Kurdish protection Units near Tal Abyad. All though Ayman suffered from diabetes type A, he was tortured, denied food and his medicine. His diabetes reached 1000 mg in “Albawaba” prison. The health stage of Ayman worsened every day until he fell in a coma. Ayman died in the hospital in Tal Abyad 27th of September.
Ayman was part of a secular family with a modern view of the world. Two of Altahri daughters are married to Kurds. The family worked on their property with many ethnic groups and welcomed everyone: Christians, Turkman, Kurds and Arabs.
Ayman was known for his opposition against the dictator Assad. Under Hafez Assad’s governance, Ayman’s brother Fares Altahri and thousands of other prisoners were murdered in “State Security” prison massacre in 1985. His other brother, Bilikh, also was arrested for 16 years.
When the Syrian revolution started, Ayman was one of the few in Tal Abyad who established a secular, democratic battalion called احرار تل ابيض (the free of Tal Abyad).
Ayman also opposed the brutal Daesh (IS), who arrested him three times. Although Ayman was always pressured and often arrested by the barbaric group, he never allowed Daesh to raise their flag in his village “Hawijat Abdy”, where he lived and grew up. As long as he lived, he did not allow any other than the Syrian revolution flag in the village.
Ayman was also against the displacement of the Kurds in Tal Abyad, and actually worked to help them stay.
When the US liberated Tal Abyad with help from a battalion of the Syrian free army and Kurdish people’s protection units (YPG), many Syrians fled to Turkey. However, Ayman refused to leave his home. He once said: “I will stay in Syria, and I will die in Syria”.
YPG claim to be democratic units. According to Amnesty International rapport (7 September, 2015) and other activists in the area, YPG does not seem to be different from Assad nor IS. These three forces may not follow the same cause but they use the same propaganda and they torture the civil society. YPG arrests most the secular activists that threaten them, they forcefully displace civilians and they do not allow Syrians in Turkey to return to their homes. The project of new Kurdistan in North Syria is their first priority. The irony here is that Ayman actually fought against the displacement of Kurds in Tal Abyad, and worked to keep the Kurdish civilians safe. However, when YPG began their unlawful acts, he was one of many who stood against them. This was met with ruthlessness, brutality, and inhumanity. This led to Ayman’s death, along with many other activists and civilians who dare to oppose YPG, and dream of a democratic and secular Syria.
Maya Alhaj Saleh
