Abstract
In February 2025, a People’s Tribunal was held in Brussels to investigate alleged Turkish war crimes across north-east Syria (Rojava) since 2018 – aiming to amplify the voices of the Kurdish victims and document evidence to hold the perpetrators to account. The author, the presiding judge of the tribunal, presents here some background history on the area and some of the evidence presented to the tribunal.
Keywords
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References
1.
There are many alleged foreign fighters and IS supporters in the camps whose home states refuse to repatriate them; some, like British-born Shamima Begum, have been stripped of their birth citizenship and have no country to be repatriated to.
2.
They were named Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Peace Spring, respectively.
3.
The Syrian National Army (SNA) remains a loose coalition of militias and factions, some of which, like HTS, were formerly aligned with Al Qaeda. See Human Rights Watch, “‘Everything is by the Power of the Weapon’: Abuses and Impunity in Turkish-Occupied Northern Syria,” Human Rights Watch , February 29, 2024, https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/02/29/everything-power-weapon/abuses-and-impunity-turkish-occupied-northern-syria.
4.
K. Al-Hilu, “The Turkish Intervention in Northern Syria: One Strategy, Discrepant Policies,” Middle East Directions, No. 1 (European University Institute, 2021).
5.
E. Tsurkov, “The Gangs of Northern Syria: Life under Turkey’s Proxies,” Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy , December 7, 2022, https://newlinesinstitute.org/syria/the-gangs-of-northern-syria-life-under-Turkeys-proxies/.
6.
“Illegal Transfers of Syrians to Turkey,” Human Rights Watch , February 3, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/02/03/illegal-transfers-syrians-Turkey.
7.
Conflict Armament Research, Missile Components Used in Drone Attacks in Northeast Syria (Conflict Armament Research, 2022).
8.
“#OperationPeaceSpring will neutralise terror threats against Turkey and lead to the establishment of a safe zone, facilitating the return of Syrian refugees to their homes,” Twitter account of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, October 9, 2019, https://x.com/RTErdogan/status/1181922277488762880.
9.
The Turkish state-run Anadolu Press Agency refers to Operation Peace Spring being launched by the Turkish army “in cooperation” with the SNA under Turkish army supervision, to “eliminate the terrorist corridor” in northern Syria. See e.g, “A Convoy of the Syrian National Army Moves to Support Operation Peace Spring,” Anadolu , October 12, 2019.
10.
Amnesty International, “Syria: Damning Evidence of War Crimes and Other Violations by Turkish Forces and Their Allies,” Amnesty International , October 18, 2019, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2019/10/syria-damning-evidence-of-war-crimes-and-other-violations-by-turkish-forces-and-their-allies/. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (UN COI) reported in January 2020 that twenty schools had been damaged or destroyed in R’as al Ayn / Serekaniye, see Report A/HRC/43/57, 17.
11.
C. Sterling and Y. Ismael, “Turkish Presence in Northern Syria: Systematic Harm to Civilians,” Washington Kurdish Institute , August 2023, https://dckurd.org/2023/08/14/turkish-presence-in-northern-syria/.
12.
A. Waller and K. Abbas, “Protests and Bloodshed at Tishreen Dam, the Syrian War’s Last Faultline,” Middle East Eye , January 31, 2025, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/protests-bloodshed-tishreen-dam-syria-war-last-faultline.
13.
“Erdogan Vows to Thwart any ‘Kurdish State’ in Syria,” AFP , August 22, 2017, https://www.france24.com/en/20170822-erdogan-vows-thwart-kurdish-state-syria.
14.
The Tribunal’s judgment, which includes a map (on p. 3), is at https://permanentpeoplestribunal.org/54-rojava-vs-turkey/?lang=en.
15.
Neither the new government in Syria, nor the PKK ceasefire, nor the agreement by the SDF for all Rojava’s military and civil institutions to be integrated into national institutions, has stopped Turkey’s attacks on the Kurds of Syria.
16.
A. Marvar, “Turkey’s Other Weapon Against the Kurds: Water,” The Nation , November 11, 2019, https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/turkey-syria-iraq-kurds/.
17.
NES NGO Forum, “Escalation of Hostilities Targeting Critical Civilian Infrastructures in Northeast Syria,” Situation Report #1, October 7, 2023, https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/escalation-hostilities-targeting-critical-civilian-infrastructures-northeast-syria.
18.
NES NGO Forum, “Escalation of Hostilities in Northeast Syria, 16 December 2024,” https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/escalation-hostilities-northeast-syria-january-16th-2024. Earlier attacks had similar effects on the health of the population: see NES NGO Forum, “Uptick of Hostilities Lead to Power Cuts and Result in Increased Humanitarian and Environmental Risks,” November 25, 2022, https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/uptick-hostilities-lead-power-cuts-and-result-increased-humanitarian-and-environmental-risks.
19.
See e.g. Doctors of the World, “Escalation of Violence in North East Syria: Health Centers Without Electricity,” Doctors of the World , January 22, 2024, https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/news/escalation-of-violence-in-northeast-syria-health-centers-without-electricity/.
20.
“Kobani Medical Centre Destroyed in Turkish Airstrikes,” Medya News , December 27, 2023, https://medyanews.net/kobani-medical-centre-destroyed-in-turkish-airstrikes/; “New Attack on Healthcare Facilities in Syria,” Doctors of the World , January 15, 2024, https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/news/new-attack-on-healthcare-facilities-in-syria/.
21.
Make Rojava Green Again, “Turkish Attacks on Tishreen Dam are an Ecological Threat to the Whole Region,”
Resilience.org
, March 4, 2025, https://www.resilience.org/stories/2025-03-04/__trashed-10/.
22.
See “International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg), Judgment of 1 October 1946,” The Trial of German Major War Criminals. Proceedings of the International Military Tribunal sitting at Nuremberg, Germany , Part 22 (22 August, 1946 to 1 October, 1946); see also Definition of Aggression, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX), 14 December 1974.
23.
B. Hubbard, K. Shoumali, C. Gall and P. Kingsley, “Syrian Arab Fighters Backed by Turkey Kill Two Kurdish Prisoners,” New York Times , October 12, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/12/world/middleeast/turkey-invasion-syria-kurds.html; E. Schmitt, “US Envoy in Syria Says Not Enough Was Done to Avert Turkish Attack,” New York Times , November 7, 2019. See also J. Schwarz, “The U.S. is Now Betraying the Kurds for the Eighth Time,” The Intercept , October 7, 2019, https://theintercept.com/2019/10/07/kurds-syria-turkey-trump-betrayal.
24.
“European Parliament President David Sassoli’s speech to the European Council,” European Parliament News , October 17, 2019, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20191017IPR64557/european-parliament-president-david-sassoli-s-speech-to-the-european-council; “Turkey’s Military Operation in Syria and Its Impact on Relations with the EU,” European Parliament Research Service Briefing, PE 642.284, November 2019, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/EPRS/EPRS-Briefing-642284-Turkeys-military-operation-Syria-FINAL.pdf; “European Parliament Condemns Turkey’s Violations in Afrin, North-East Syria,” North Press Agency , February 10, 2024, https://npasyria.com/en/111083/; European Parliament Resolution of 12 March 2025, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-10-2025-0035_EN.html.
25.
In response to the restrictions on arms sales, Turkey accelerated the growth of its own burgeoning arms industry, and in 2022 only 20 per cent of its arms were imported, compared with 80 per cent in 2004. Turkey has become a major exporter of armed drones, including to Libya, Azerbaijan and Ethiopia, causing concern over its adherence to Arms Trade Treaty provisions prohibiting arms sales to human rights-abusing countries: see “Türkiye’s Growing Arms Industry: Tensions Emerge with the West over Domestic Ambitions and International Commitments,” Action on Armed Violence , December 4, 2023, https://aoav.org.uk/2023/turkiyes-arms-industry-and-the-arms-trade-treaty-growing-tensions-with-the-west-amid-domestic-ambitions-and-international-commitments/.
26.
“Sweden Resumes Arms Exports to Turkey After NATO Membership Bid,” National Post , September 30, 2022, https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/sweden-resumes-arms-exports-to-turkey-after-nato-membership-bid; R. Soylu, “Finland Permits First Defence Export to Turkey since 2019,” Middle East Eye , January 25, 2023, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-finland-permits-first-defence-export.
27.
See e.g, E. K. Alpay, “What’s Behind the Recent Surge in Arrests of PKK Activists Across Europe?,” TRTWorld , December 2024, https://www.trtworld.com/europe/whats-behind-the-recent-surge-in-arrests-of-pkk-terrorists-across-europe-18242260.
28.
For analysis of the raid and its political context see I. Käyhkö, “Repression and Resistance: Counter-Terror Raids Target Kurdish Community in London,” Race & Class 66, no. 4 (2025): 3–15.
29.
See S. Childs and J. Lubbock, “Has David Lammy Betrayed His Kurdish Friends?” Novara Media , December 20, 2024, https://novaramedia.com/2024/12/20/has-david-lammy-betrayed-his-kurdish-friends/.
30.
See e.g., M. Broomfield, “The Betrayal of British Kurds: Slayers of ISIS are Being Criminalised,” Unherd , January 18, 2024, https://unherd.com/2024/01/the-betrayal-of-british-kurds/.
31.
“Solidarity Actions Called in Support of Jailed YPG Volunteer Libre Flot,” Morning Star , April 3, 2022, https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/solidarity-actions-called-support-jailed-ypg-volunteer-libre-flot.
32.
“Dutch YPG Volunteer Arrested in the Netherlands,” Kurdistan 24 , April 2, 2019, https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/379284/Dutch-YPG-volunteer-arrested-in-the-Netherlands.
33.
“YPG Returnees: Counterterrorist Fighters under Suspicion,” Deutsche Welle , May 1, 2020, https://www.dw.com/en/ypg-returnees-counterterrorist-fighters-under-suspicion/a-51884403.
34.
The evidence we saw dates from 2014: D. L. Phillips, “Research Paper: ISIS-Turkey Links,” Huffpost , November 9, 2014, updated September 2016, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/research-paper-isis-turke_b_6128950.
35.
Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, 54th session: Preliminary Statement, 6 February 2025, https://permanentpeoplestribunal.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/PPT-ROJAVA-PRELIMINARY-STATEMENT_6-FEBRUARY-2025_FINAL.pdf.
36.
“54. Rojava vs Turkey (Brussels, 5-6 February 2025),” PPT, https://permanentpeoplestribunal.org/54-rojava-vs-turkey/?lang=en.