The Media Center of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported on Monday that the British newspaper the Guardian had fallen into the trap of forgery. The SDF published a statement on its official website after the Guardian published a report about the release of Islamic State (ISIS) detainees by the SDF in exchange for financial compensation. The statement described these allegations as “false.”
On Monday, the Guardian said in a report that the forces in charge of jails in northeast Syria housing about 10,000 men with alleged links to ISIS are releasing prisoners in exchange for money under a “reconciliation” scheme, according to interviews with two freed prisoners and official documents.
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“Syrian men imprisoned without trial can pay $8,000 (£6,000) as a fine to be freed, a copy of the release form shows,” The Guardian alleged.
“The Guardian newspaper published a false report attached to a document claiming the release of ISIS detainees in the prisons of northeast Syria in exchange for a sum of money,” the SDF said in its statement.
“Despite our absolute denial of such reports and our affirmation in advance to the journalist who prepared the report that the document was forged, it fell into the trap of forgery and false testimonies and insisted on publishing the report with the forged document,” the statement added.
“In turn, we have written to the newspaper’s management, and we are still waiting for its response before publishing the details of the forgery,” the official website of the SDF said.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
