Turkey releases female ISIS members

According to Deutsche Welle Turkish, court decisions about one of the fugitive defendants of the Ankara Massacre case, E.G., the wife of Ahmet Güneş, code-named ‘Ebu Zeyneb’, and Ulkar M., code-named “Hacer”, the wife of Mustafa Dokumacı, the leader of the Dokumacılar Group in Adıyaman have been added to the in the Ankara Massacre case file.

RELEASED DESPITE SIX YEARS OF ISIS MEMBERSHIP

On November 18, 2020, the Urfa 2nd High Criminal Court decided to release E.G., who joined ISIS in Syria in 2014 with her husband, brother, mother-in-law and father-in-law.

The court confirmed that E.G., was “a member of an armed terrorist organization”. However, the court ruled that “there was no need to sentence her”, claiming that she had left ISIS voluntarily while she on the other hand identified the photos of the members of the organization.

WHOLE FAMILY JOINED ISIS

After becoming an informant, E.G. was arrested on September 30, 2019. In her statement, she explained the reason for going to Syria, saying that “My husband said he was going to divorce me and kidnap the child if I didn’t go with him”. E.G. also stated that her mother Ülger and father Mehmet Cebael were captured by the YPG and remain in Syria’s ROJ Camp. Her brother Abdulsamet Cebael was also one of the family members who joined ISIS. Ahmet Güneş’s brother, İsmail Güneş, was the perpetrator of the suicide bombing attack on Antep Police Department on May 1, 2016.

E.G. avoided giving detailed information about the organization of ISIS and the activities of her husband in her statement. She claimed that she had never seen her husband in a military uniform with guns, and that she could not get answers to the questions she asked.

SURRENDERED IN OCTOBER 2021

One of the released women is Ulkar M., code-named “Hacer”, wife of Mustafa Dokumacı, the leader of the Dokumacılar Group in Adıyaman. Ulkar M. is sought in connection to terror and intelligence reports say that she might be used as a suicide bomber. She is also sought by Interpol under issue of a red notice. Ulkar M. went to Syria with her husband in 2014. She surrendered to the soldiers in Turkey on October 9, 2021 after crossing the Syrian border and became an informant based on the effective repentance law of Turkey. The Adıyaman Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office prepared an indictment against Ulkar M.

RELEASED AT FIRST HEARING

The first hearing of the case was held on November 29, 2021 at the Adıyaman 2nd High Criminal Court. A witness, D.T. said that Ulkar M. had given religious lessons to them in Syria. A public prosecutor said that she should not enjoy the effective repentance law and be punished for the crime of membership of a (terrorist) organization. However, the court ruled that there was no reason to impose a sentence on the accused because she voluntarily surrendered and gave information about the crimes committed by the organization. Ulkar M. was released following the court’s decision.