In the northern Kurdish province of Mardin, several refugees from Rojava have been arrested on so-called terror charges. Four men are accused of being "members" of the People's Defense Units (YPG). Those affected originally come from Hesekê in north-eastern Syria. In 2015, they fled attacks by the terrorist militia Islamic State to Turkey, where they were recognized as refugees. Now they are being held in Mardin's Type E prison.

Those affected are Ibrahim el Isa, Omer Halef Terbuş, Ziya El Yusuf Suud and Abdulmuti El Terbuş. They have all been in police custody since last weekend and were only handed over to a court on Friday. The criminal department at the Mardin District Court did not hesitate and, at the request of the prosecutor, issued an arrest warrant for all four men. The reason given was that there were “incriminating statements” against them. There was no mention of evidence of YPG membership. The court also did not provide any information about the alleged activities of the accused for the combat unit active in the autonomous region of northern and eastern Syria. It is also not known where those affected are said to have participated in the YPG.

In such cases, allegations of terrorism are often based on information provided by informers. Hundreds of Kurds from Rojava are being held in Turkish prisons. Most were illegally deported and sentenced to life imprisonment in Turkey for alleged crimes they allegedly committed in Syria.