Kurdish writer arrested in Syria

Kurdish writer arrested in Syria

Kurdish writer Siament Ibrahim was arrested by Syrian police last week. The ground of the arrest is still unclear.

On November 25, 2010, members of the Political Security Directorate in al-Qamishli arrested the writer ʿAbdussalam ʿAbdullah Haji Ibrahim, alias Siamend Ibrahim (55).

Ibrahim was first summoned to report to the Political Security Directorate in al-Qamishli. From there he was transferred to the Political Security Directorate in al-Hasakah, which referred his case to the single military judge in al-Qamishli.

Following a hearing on November 28, 2010, the judge decided that ʿAbdussalam ʿAbdullah Haji Ibrahim should remain in jail and referred his case to the military prosecution in Aleppo.

Ibrahim is currently still in the al-Qamishli prison, his attorney’s petition for release was dismissed.

Several weeks before Ibrahim’s arrest, a Kurdish translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh was found in his belongings at the luggage inspection at the al-Qamishli/Nusaybin border point.

Ibrahim had acquired the text in Turkey.