BEIRUT - A Kurdish Sunni Muslim cleric in Syria who was reported missing last month has died after being tortured, Kurdish party officials said on Wednesday. Sheikh Mohammed Maashuq al-Khaznawi had not been heard from since May 10 and was believed to have been detained by Syrian police. The cleric "was killed at the hands of Syrian authorities," a spokesman for the Kurdish Yakiti party said a statement received by AFP in Beirut.
An official from the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria, Nazir Mustapha, told AFP that doctors in Damascus reported "traces of torture" on Khaznawi's body. The sheikh was widely popular in Syria, and was known for teaching that Islam and democracy are compatible. News of his disappearance led to massive demonstrations in northern Syria last month.
Syria is home to some 1.5 million Kurds, around nine percent of the population. They are fighting to have their language, culture and political rights recognised. |