|
DAMASCUS, June 2 (AFP) - 10h22 - Syria's
official press Thursday named five men whom the
authorities said were responsible for the murder of
a Kurdish religious leader, Sheikh Mohammed Maashuk
Khaznawi, who went missing last month.
"Security forces arrested two members of this gang
which carried out the crime of kidnapping and
assassinating Sheikh Khaznawi," who was buried on
Wednesday, said the Tishrin government daily.
It named them as Yassin Matar Hindi, 43, a Damascus
employee of the state electricity authority, and
Mohammed Matar Abdullah, 36, prayer leader of a
mosque in Hassakeh, northeast Syria.
The two are both natives of Deir Ezzor in the same
region.
Three other members of the gang are on the run, it
said, giving their names as Ismail Kadri Malla, also
from Hassakeh, Samir Tlaigeh from Aleppo, north of
Damascus, and Said Haidaleh from Deir Ezzor.
On Wednesday, the interior ministry said all five
had been arrested.
Despite the official version, Amnesty International
said Khaznawi was "at least the sixth Syrian Kurd to
have died as a result of torture and ill-treatment
since March 2004".
The 46-year-old religious leader "died on 30 May, 20
days after he 'disappeared', apparently detained by
Syrian military intelligence at an unknown
location", the rights group said.
It called for Syrian authorities to launch "an
immediate, independent investigation" into the
sheikh's death "in custody". The results should be
made public and "those responsible for his torture
brought to justice", it said.
AFP
Top |
® 