The People's Court in Kobanê has sentenced a 53-year-old man to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and their son.

The guilty verdict was passed on Thursday with a clear majority: Of the 57 jurors, 42 voted for imprisonment up to physical death. The court awarded the two daughters of the couple 30 million Syrian liras for pain and suffering.

Basem Hussein Abdo Abbas, who comes from the village of Dirbazina Jorin in the west of Kobanê, abducted his wife Hoda Ahmed (30) and their seven-year-old son Azad about a year ago and subsequently stoned them to death. He then surrended voluntarily to the Asayish (Public order forces) in Kobanê and has been in custody since. The almost unrecognizable bodies of the two murder victims were found on 23 February 2020 in a forest near Kobanê, the scene of the brutal crime.

Basem Hussein Abdo Abbas, sentenced to life imprisonment | Photo: Nazım Daştan

The proceedings initiated by the Justice Council of the Euphrates region took place on the premises of the Baqî Xido cultural center and was observed by numerous representatives of the autonomous authorities, activists from the women's umbrella organization Kongra Star, the women's organizations Sara and Mala Jin as well as citizens.

The People's Tribunal established that this was a planned double murder. Abbas and his family had left the besieged city after the Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia attacked Kobanê and had fled to Denmark, where they applied for political asylum.

The couple had returned to northern Syria with their children just a few days before the murders.

Women's Council calls for action against feminicide

The double murder caused great horror in the northeastern Syrian autonomous regions. The Syrian Women's Council had first strongly condemned the murder of Hoda Ahmed, who was born in the eastern Syrian city of Ash-Shaddadi, and her son and called for measures to be taken against feminicides.