PRAGUE: The Czech Foreign Ministry rejected accusations the country supported terrorism, following statements from Turkish government officials critical of a Czech court’s decision to release a Syrian Kurdish leader.
Saleh Muslim was detained over the weekend in the Czech capital at the request of Turkey, which accuses him of disrupting the state and aggravated murder. Turkey’s government said his release was political and “a clear support for terror.”
“The Czech Republic strongly rejects any accusation of support of international terrorism,” the ministry said, adding extradition proceedings have not been concluded by the court decision.
A Czech court on Tuesday ordered the release of the former PYD leader.
Muslim formerly headed the PYD, the major component of a coalition that governs Kurdish-held autonomous areas of northern Syria, and deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey.
“The court ruled Mr. Muslim will be released,” said Marketa Puci, a spokeswoman for the Prague Municipal Court. She added that the court ruling had taken legal effect as both the state attorney and the defense gave up their rights to appeal.
Muslim pledged to the Czech court to remain on EU territory for the time period given for Turkey to file a formal extradition request, which itself could take months to decide given the likelihood of appeals.
Muslim said allegations against him were false and that he was surprised by his detention, given he had previously traveled to Belgium, Germany and France uneventfully.
“Nobody was taking it (the charges by Turkey) seriously, I didn’t know that they will take it seriously here,” Muslim said. “First of all, I am a citizen of Syria, I am not a citizen of Turkey, second thing, I am a politician.”
Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul said Ankara expected Czech authorities to compensate for the “mistake” of releasing Muslim and would pursue its legal rights on the matter.
Turkey’s Ambassador to Prague Ahmet Necati Bigali told Reuters Turkey was “saddened” by the decision and that it could have political effects. “This is not befitting our friendship with the Czech Republic,” he said by telephone. “This decision has surely cast a shadow over our relations.”
Turkey launched a military offensive last month in Syria’s Afrin region against the Kurdish YPG militia, the PYD’s armed affiliate, which it deems a menace along its border.
Ankara sees the PYD and YPG as extensions of the outlawed Kurdish PKK movement, which has waged a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil.
Muslim is on a “wanted terrorists” list on the Turkish Interior Ministry’s website. He is accused of links to two deadly bombings in Ankara that killed dozens of people.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the Czech court’s decision showed Prague “did not care about innocent civilians losing their lives in terrorist attacks or the pain of their families.”
Muslim said he had not yet decided where he would go next, but added he had permission for residency in EU member Finland.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu later said the court’s decision did not mean “everything was over” and that Ankara would pursue Muslim “wherever he goes.”
Czechs reject Turkish criticism after releasing Syrian Kurdish leader
Czechs reject Turkish criticism after releasing Syrian Kurdish leader
Hoping for better year ahead, Gazans bid farewell to ‘nightmare’
- Humanitarian agencies have warned that shortages of food, clean water and medical supplies persist, while winter conditions are worsening life in overcrowded camps
GAZA CITY: As 2025 draws to a close, Palestinians in Gaza are marking the new year not with celebration, but with exhaustion, grief and a fragile hope that their “endless nightmare” might finally end.
For residents of the battered territory, daily life is a struggle for survival.
Much of Gaza’s infrastructure lies in ruins, electricity remains scarce and hundreds of thousands of people live in makeshift tents after being repeatedly displaced by the two years of fighting that began with Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
“We in the Gaza Strip are living in an endless nightmare,” said Hanaa Abu Amra, a displaced woman in her thirties living in Gaza City. “We hope that this nightmare will end in 2026 ... The least we can ask for is a normal life — to see electricity restored, the streets return to normal and to walk without tents lining the roads,” she said.
Across Gaza, a territory of more than 2 million people, scenes of hardship are commonplace.
The outgoing year brought relentless loss and fear, said Shireen Al-Kayali.
“We bid farewell to 2025 with deep sorrow and grief,” she said.
“We lost a lot of people and our possessions. We lived a difficult and harsh life, displaced from one city to another, under bombardment and in terror.”
Her experience reflects that of countless Gazans who have been forced to flee repeatedly, often with little warning, taking with them only what they could carry.
Entire families have been uprooted, livelihoods destroyed, and communities fragmented as the war dragged on for two years.
Despite the devastation, some residents cling to the belief that the new year might bring an end to the fighting and a chance to rebuild.
For many Gazans, hope has become an act of resilience, particularly after the truce that came into effect on October 10 and has largely halted the fighting.
“We still hope for a better life in the new year, and I call on the free world to help our oppressed people so we can regain our lives,” said Khaled Abdel Majid, 50, who lives in a tent in Jabalia camp.
Faten Al-Hindawi hoped the truce would finally end the war.
“We will bid farewell to 2025, leaving behind its pain, and we hope that 2026 will be a year of hope, prayer, determination and success stories.”
