French woman in Syria disputes media reports of YPG torturing her
The YPG Press Office released video on Monday of a woman who says her name is "Emilie Konig" and "was born in France in 1984."
At some point she found a phone and called her mother, she says, explaining she feared being transferred to another camp.
"I just told her that 'someone says' YPG tortures detainees in its camps. I didn't say that they torture[d] me. But I haven't seen anything like that so far," said Konig, adding that she has "everything" she needs for herself and her children.
Ouest-France newspaper quoted her mother in France on January 3 as saying her daughter was "being held in a Kurdish camp and has been interrogated and tortured."
The 33-year-old said the investigation carried out by the YPG "has no difference" from the process "in my country, France.”
"Just questions and answers, that is all."
She says she was arrested by the mostly-Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and then stayed in Hol refugee camp "to get some humanitarian aid."
"I got everything I need[ed]," she said.
She did say that she had heard horror stories the way YPG treats captives; but, "They just asked me some questions, took a few pictures and my finger prints. That was all.”
"Then they gave me a shelter. There was not any torture or anything like it.”
YPG releases video of woman claiming to be one of the most wanted Western female ISIS members. Video: YPG via YouTube
The US State Department added Konig to its list of most-wanted ISIS members in September 2015 after being put on a UN watch list in 2014.
In 2010, while wearing the niqab, Konig was discovered handing out leaflets calling for jihad near a mosque in Lorient, France. She was also often seen at the forefront of protests in Paris, fully veiled.
"I met with Ibrahim, my husband, on the internet. We decided to marry after meeting each other on Skype,” said Konig without giving a timeline.
While married to the man of Algerian origin, AFP reported, she converted to Islam, learned Arabic and began to call herself Samra.
The Kurdish group released two videos of Konig making her statement in Arabic and French.
"Then I came to Syria. I took a plane from Paris to Istanbul and I stayed there for one night. I came to Anteb (a southeastern city of Turkey) the next day," said Konig, who is accused of spreading ISIS propaganda in Europe and recruiting members.
"Then I went to Kilos (in Turkey) and crossed [at the] Bab al-Salama border gate into Azaz [northwestern Syria near Aleppo]," she added.
France's Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet told Radio RMC on January 4 that French nationals accused of terrorism could "eventually proceed to trials" if granted access to lawyers and diplomatic services.
There is no capital punishment in France.
The US-led Coalition to Defeat ISIS has estimated that around 40,000 foreigner came to Iraq and Syria since 2014 to fight for ISIS.
ISIS was declared defeated in Iraq by its prime minister in December 17. The Russian-backed President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and the Baathists' supporters in Tehran, have also declared ISIS defeated in Syria.
However, daily reports of counter-ISIS operations continue in Iraq and Syria. The reports have come from Iraqi counter-terrorism forces, the Kurdistan Region Security Council, and the YPG in Syria.
As of January 5, the coalition announced it would only report counter-ISIS strikes on a weekly basis, instead of daily.
From December 29, 2017 to January 4, the coalition reported conducting "58 strikes consisting of 84 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq."