The first concrete step regarding the situation of the German citizen ISIS members and their families captured alive by the YPG / SDF forces during the operations against ISIS gangs, which have remained uncertain for years, was taken on December 20. A delegation from Germany and Finland visited Qamishlo city of Rojava Kurdistan and met with the Democratic Syrian Autonomous Council Administration and signed a joint protocol last week.

Within the framework of the protocol, 3 women and 12 children held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Roj and Hol camps were handed over to Germany and 2 women and 6 children to Finland. Only one of the female ISIS members who were taken to Germany and Finland via Southern Kurdistan was detained at Frankfurt airport.

According to the ANF German service, a woman by the name of Leonora Messing has been arrested in Germany on charges of assisting in the murder of a Yazidi woman and her two children.

In addition, two ISIS members, Merve Aydın and Yasemin A. were released after their statements were taken. While the investigation is continuing against both women, the children were received by the Youth Office officials.

MAAS DID NOT MENTION THE AUTONOMOUS ADMINISTRATION

Making a statement on the subject, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas refrained from mentioning the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Stating that the delivery of ISIS members was carried out after a detailed preliminary study, Maas added: “There is already a complicated situation in the north of Syria, and the situation has become more difficult due to the coronavirus. The people we are in contact with there have enough problems. Therefore, I would like to thank the people in the region and our Finnish friends who are intermediaries."

Likewise, the German Foreign Ministry gave the information that "the operation was carried out with the support of local forces", without giving the name of the Autonomous Administration, in a statement regarding the handover of ISIS members.

Despite such statements from the German government, it has been revealed that a protocol was signed between the German Deputy Consul General of Hewler, Sven Krauspe, and the Autonomous Administration for the delivery of ISIS members.

TRIAL OF ISIS MEMBERS IN GERMANY DISCUSSED

According to the news published by ANHA news agency yesterday, the protocol in question was signed in Qamishlo, in the building of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Apart from Krauspe, the delegation comprised the Director of German Immigration Affairs and the Head of the German Foreign Consulates Aid Section, Jussi Tanner, the Special Envoy for Finnish Foreign Ministry Affairs to the United Nations and Ante Bonkonen, Deputy Foreign Affairs Consulate of Finland.

During the meeting of the two delegations, the attacks of the Turkish state, the latest political developments in Northern and Eastern Syria, the latest congress held by the Syrian Democratic Council (MSD), the necessity of the Autonomous Administration to participate in the Geneva and Constitution Committee were discussed.

Danya Remedan, co-chair of the Autonomous Administration Foreign Affairs Department and İbrahim Selac, a member of the Foreign Affairs Office, gave the following information regarding the talks: “We evaluated the inhumane practices of the Turkish state as well as the humanitarian situation in the region. We also discussed the Turkish state's closure of the Alouk station, which provides water for more than one million people, and the trial of ISIS gangs.

Moreover, the Director of German Immigration Affairs made the following evaluations to ANHA after the meeting: “We met with the Autonomous Administration officials on humanitarian needs. We discussed the aid that Germany will provide in humanitarian matters. The greatest solidarity is the assistance of humanitarian organizations on an international scale.”

GERMAN CITIZENS HELD BY THE SDF

Germany was one of the countries where ISIS recruited members the most among European countries. According to the data of the German Interior Ministry, 1,050 people from Germany joined the ISIS, but it is estimated that this number is much higher. While one third of the gang members returned to Germany, it is reported that at least 220 of them were killed in Iraq and Syria.

More than 200 German citizens, mostly women and children, are in the hands of the YPG / SDF. It is stated that 90 of them are adult men and committed war crimes. For a long time, the Berlin administration ignored the situation of the Germans who were caught alive in the operations against ISIS gangs. In February 2019, despite the US President Donald Trump's call to "take and judge your citizens" by mentioning Germany's name, Germany remained indifferent to its citizens who joined ISIS and committed crimes against humanity.

Thereupon, close relatives of the gang members applied to the courts in Germany and demanded their children to be brought. The Federal German Government under Angela Merkel, on the other hand, insistently opposed bringing adult ISIS members into the country, out of fear of terrorist attacks.

GERMANY AVOIDED CONTACT WITH THE AUTONOMOUS ADMINISTRATION FOR YEARS

In accordance with international law, Germany can visit and deal with its citizens who are detained in prisons in another country and take care of their legal issues. While German ISIS members held in prisons in Iraq and Southern Kurdistan benefited from this privilege called "consular support", the Berlin administration prevented its citizens in the hands of the YPG / SDF from enjoying these rights just to avoid official contact with the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

More than 2800 ISIS members were caught in the operations of YPG-affiliated special units in northern Syria. More than 800 of them are citizens of 46 different states, mostly western countries. Until now, only some countries, including France, Denmark, Indonesia, Russia, Morocco and Sudan, have asked for their citizens captured alive by the YPG from the Autonomous Administration.