Amin Issa al-Ali's Family Announces Readiness to Re-autopsy his Body

2021-06-29
On Tuesday, The family of young Amin Issa al-Ali announced its readiness to re-autopsy the body after the Self-Administration denied he was tortured. A statement to the public opinion from the family of the young Amin Issa al-Ali on 22 May 2021, a patrol belonging to Asayish the Democratic Self-Administration in Northeastern Syria took our deceased son Amin Issa al-Ali, born in 1986, married with two sons from his home in Al-Hasakah to the office of the military prosecutor of the Self-Administration. After reviewing the authorities of the administration by us (the family of the deceased), they informed us that he was wanted as a witness in a corruption case involving some employees of the Self-Administration institutions, and that he would be out soon without any worry. The authorities in the military prosecutor delayed his release, which led us to worry about his fate, and we informed them that our son suffered from the thyroid and needed his medicine. The authorities refused to receive the medicine, arguing that there was no prescription. On 10 June 2021, we secured a prescription and delivered it to SDF spokesman (Nouri Mahmoud), who in turn did not promise us that he would deliver the medicine to Amin, being detained by a non-SDF party. We then reviewed and contacted more than one sides and the Self-Administration official for more one time to reveal his fate and the possibility of visiting him. All of our attempts to reach him have not succeeded, despite repeated promises to release him soon. On 28 June 2021, the deceased's brother received a call from the Martyr Sariya Hospital of the Self-Administration that Amin's health is bad, and he has to come. Upon his arrival, he was informed that Amin had died of a stroke and the hospital administration refused to hand over the body except with the written consent from the military prosecutor. Upon approval, the body was received and taken home. We contacted several doctors to carry out an autopsy and explain the causes of death, but they all refused to disclose him for fear of Self-Administration authorities. However, we were able to contact a medical examiner (who insisted on anonymity in order to preserve his life) and prepared the medical report, which reads as follows: (a broken jaw, internal bleeding in the skull, the effects of a beating on the knee, a hard tool on the neck and behind the head, burned from behind the head to the end of the spine with hot oil, severe hits on the medulla oblongata, after the blade-hitting on the left side on the face, burning hands from under the armpit to the palm with hot water, and digging in belly skin). We, the family of the deceased, refraining from mentioning the name of the doctor to preserve his life and at his will, about 24 hours after we received the body of our son Amin, we were surprised by the leaking of a video by some supporters of the Democratic Self-Administration in Northeastern Syria on social media that was taken in an unprofessional and immoral way without our knowledge, the family of the deceased. After the video spread on social media, the Office of Justice and Reform of the Self-Administration in Northeastern Syria issued a statement denying that the deceased had been tortured and that the photographs taken immediately by our family when we received the body. We confirm the authenticity of the medical examiner and the points published above and the authenticity of the photographs that we have published, which clearly have the effect of torture, not fabricated photographs, as claimed in the statement of the Office of Justice and Reform Affairs, while we hoped that the Self-Administration authorities would disclose the circumstances of this case in a transparent and impartial manner without hiding and distorting the facts in this way. Accordingly, we, the family of the young deceased Amin Issa al-Ali, confirm our readiness to re-autopsy and reopen the grave under the eyes of the media, not just in the presence and detection of a committee of neutral doctors and specialists, knowing that the effects of torture and physical deformities are clear to any ordinary human being. We call on international, human rights, and human organizations to open an impartial, transparent, fair and independent international investigation to uncover the circumstances of this crime and bring the perpetrators of justice. At the same time, we hold the authorities in the democratic Self-Administration in Northeastern Syria responsible for the killing of our son under torture as a government responsible for the safety and security of citizens throughout the region under its control. Family of the young deceased Amin Issa Al-Ali, Al-Hasakah, 29 June 2021.