Turkish court sentences 15‑year‑old Kurdish boy to 80‑year imprisonment

A Turkish criminal court in Urfa sentenced 15‑year‑old Hussein Muhammed, a Kurdish boy from Rojava, to a total of 80 years in prison for killing three Turkish soldiers. He was abducted in 2022 by the Free Syrian Army in the town of Serêkaniyê in northeastern Syria, held for ransom, and handed over to Turkish authorities after the ransom was not paid. The new trial, reopened after the Supreme Court overturned the original verdict, confirmed his minority at the time of the alleged killings but still found him guilty as a sniper. The court rejected defense requests for further evidence review and imposed four consecutive 20‑year terms. Muhammed is now incarcerated at the high‑security prison in Erzincan.

The case highlighted discrepancies over his age, with defense documents showing he was 14‑15 years old, while earlier records had inflated his age. The Supreme Court had previously ordered a reconciliation of forensic and medical age assessments before the appeal trial.