Syrian human rights activist Ahmed Katie, who was detained on the evening of November 27 by three individuals allegedly claiming to be intelligence agents in İstanbul's Aksaray, appeared in court and was arrested yesterday (December 12).
AHMED KATIE MISSING FOR TEN DAYS
Was Syrian activist Katie abducted by intelligence agents?
The İstanbul Police Department contacted Katie's family on the evening before (December 11), stating that Katie was in custody and would be referred to the prosecutor.
Katie provided testimony to the prosecutor in the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan yesterday afternoon. Following the testimony, he was brought before the court with a request for his arrest.
After the questioning in court, Katie was arrested on charges of "espionage."
'Where is Syrian human rights advocate Ahmed Katie'
Syrian human rights activist Ahmed Katie reportedly detained in Turkey
Who is Ahmed Katie?
Ahmed Katie, who served a prison sentence in Syria in place of his father, a regime opponent, between 2005 and 2010, was arrested in Idlib between 2011 and 2012 on charges of "inciting the people to rebellion" and imprisoned for a second time.
After his release in 2013, he settled in Turkey. In 2018, he obtained a work permit and fell under the scope of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection.
In 2022, he founded the Refugee Rights Justice Center, providing legal counseling to refugees.
In an interview he gave to the Middle East Diary website on September 12, 2023, Katie talks about the increasing racism towards Syrians. He says:
Racism is truly a significant issue for Turkey. Ümit Özdağ is a politician who was expelled first from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and later from the Good Party (İYİ Parti). Eventually, he established his own party in 2021. I meticulously monitor all the Twitter accounts and Telegram channels of the party members, minute by minute, even second by second. In my opinion, this party has the characteristics of an organization that incites violence; it openly calls for civil war. They make the same call not only between Syrians/Arabs and Turks but also among conservative and non-conservative Turks. As such, it poses such a great danger for Turkey, even before Syrians. The closed Telegram channels established by members of the Victory Party are highly perilous. I was able to enter these channels quickly before they closed them because I closely monitor them. In these channels, there are calls to kill Syrians and Afghans. Moreover, they explain how to use weapons, how to stab a knife into the target. They even teach each other which knife is better, which weapon is cheaper, and where to buy them.
***
In short, Syrians are very afraid of increasing racism. Unfortunately, the media is exacerbating these fears, and both sides of the media are relentless. Especially in the Turkish media, the media affiliated with the Victory Party and the Good Party are truly oppressing Syrians. First, they spread a lot of baseless rumors, then they incited people to hatred, and finally, they started to gain votes from this. These provocations they made to gain votes turned the lives of Syrians into hell. Believe me, including myself, most Syrians are afraid to go out on the streets. They have stabbed many young people. While walking on the street, I constantly check my surroundings, look behind me, wondering if someone is there to stab me in the back.
(RT/PE)
