Brutal torture of syrian child in Turkey sparks outrage on social media… Details
A major outcry has been caused by the assault on a 14-year-old Syrian refugee child in the province of Gaziantep in southern Turkey. After two days of receiving treatment at a hospital within the province, the child is in intensive care following brutal torture he endured after being kidnapped days ago.
The incident began with a football game when the Syrian refugee child, Ahmed Z., was playing at a school in the “Republic” neighborhood in Gaziantep. However, Ahmed got into an argument with Turkish children who informed their parents about the incident. Later, they proceeded to beat him and then transferred him to a remote area on the outskirts of the province, where the child experienced the most severe forms of torture.
The torture methods used on the Syrian child included beating him with metal objects, pulling out his hair, placing objects in his mouth, and deceiving him into thinking he was drowning by putting a bag over his face. This account was circulated by Turkish and international media, quoting a Syrian human rights activist and members of the orphaned child’s family, according to “Al Arabiya Net.”
The torture did not only involve beating Ahmed with metal objects, pulling out his hair, and pretending to drown him. The perpetrators also burned his tongue and parts of his body with cigarettes before leaving him on the side of the road, believing he had passed away.
Although Turkish government officials visited the Syrian child‘s family and pledged to hold the perpetrators accountable, the authorities have so far only managed to apprehend two of them, both with criminal records, according to the police in Gaziantep.
Turkish and Syrian activists condemned the assault on the Syrian child, with the hashtag “Ahmed Survived Death” becoming the most widely circulated in the country on social media since Thursday. They called for an end to attacks on Syrian refugees, especially as such incidents regularly occur in Turkey. They also demanded the harshest punishments for those who tortured Ahmed.
A week ago, the Supreme Criminal Court in the Kilis region had decided to continue the detention of the Turkish suspects in the murder of the Syrian girl Ghena Marjek and throwing her into a well on April 4th.
Syrian refugees in Turkey face incitement campaigns organized by extremist factions in the country, such as the “Victory Party” led by Omit Ozdag.
Opposition Turkish parties, notably the “Republican People’s Party,” demand the return of Syrian refugees to their country, coinciding with the ruling “Justice and Development Party” expressing its desire for their voluntary return.
