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THE STORY OF TWO ARMENIANS ARRESTED BY ISIS
Al-Akhbar, Lebanon
Jan 17 2014
By: Suhaib Anjarini
Published Thursday, January 16, 2014
The story of Wanis and Minas Livonian, two Syrian-Armenians from the
north Syrian city of Aleppo, seems almost out of this world. They
were killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and its
local Sharia committee forbade their family from burying them.
Aleppo resident Anis Livonian, known as Abu Minas, owned a small ice
factory in the eastern Aleppo countryside's Bab district. The factory
was the entire fortune of this 69 year old. When ISIS reached the
region four months ago, it took control of the factory.
No one can imagine what Wanis and his son Minas, 38, were thinking
when they decided to risk their lives and head to the industrial
city in Sheikh Najjar. Certainly, they didn't imagine it would lead
to their deaths.
The father visited the booty department at ISIS headquarters, seeking
a deal with the emir, but ISIS arrested them at once when it discovered
they were Armenians.
Three months later, an ISIS religious judge came to the two men with
a solution. A former prisoner of ISIS told Al-Akhbar, "Abu Issa told
them: Convert to Islam and you will be safe." Wanis was married with
two daughters and a son. Minas was married with three children, the
oldest 11 years old. Their family tried to obtain information about
their whereabouts but to no avail.
Three months later, an ISIS religious judge came to the two men with
a solution. A former prisoner of ISIS told Al-Akhbar, "Abu Issa told
them: Convert to Islam and you will be safe." Naturally, they quickly
agreed, declaring the shahada. Then, the two "Muslim Armenians"
were sent back to their cell "temporarily."
Though Abu Issa had promised to release them, three days later Minas
asked an "investigator" frequenting the prison about the reasons
behind the delay. He answered, "The emir was not convinced by your
Islam." Minas asked, "How was he not? We swore!" The investigator
replied, "You, people of the book, your bible is distorted and your
beliefs are void. You must have pretended that you converted to Islam
to fool us."
According to the source, before the battles between ISIS and the armed
opposition groups reached the prison, the two men were told, along
with other prisoners, that they would appear before a judge. However,
the judge was a gun, and the verdict was two bullets in the head.
The tragedy didn't end with their death. A family member told
Al-Akhbar, "We found out about their death over the Internet. It was
very sad."
The relatives sought to retrieve the bodies. "We wanted to hold a
decent burial for them, is not that the minimum we can do?"
Finally, some volunteers at a civil society organization managed
to locate the bodies being held by the Aleppo Sharia Committee,
which refused to hand over the body. Reportedly, the committee said,
"This is impossible. They declared their Islam. They are now martyrs
and should be buried in a proper way, according to Sharia."
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/18259/
Al-Akhbar, Lebanon
Jan 17 2014
By: Suhaib Anjarini
Published Thursday, January 16, 2014
The story of Wanis and Minas Livonian, two Syrian-Armenians from the
north Syrian city of Aleppo, seems almost out of this world. They
were killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and its
local Sharia committee forbade their family from burying them.
Aleppo resident Anis Livonian, known as Abu Minas, owned a small ice
factory in the eastern Aleppo countryside's Bab district. The factory
was the entire fortune of this 69 year old. When ISIS reached the
region four months ago, it took control of the factory.
No one can imagine what Wanis and his son Minas, 38, were thinking
when they decided to risk their lives and head to the industrial
city in Sheikh Najjar. Certainly, they didn't imagine it would lead
to their deaths.
The father visited the booty department at ISIS headquarters, seeking
a deal with the emir, but ISIS arrested them at once when it discovered
they were Armenians.
Three months later, an ISIS religious judge came to the two men with
a solution. A former prisoner of ISIS told Al-Akhbar, "Abu Issa told
them: Convert to Islam and you will be safe." Wanis was married with
two daughters and a son. Minas was married with three children, the
oldest 11 years old. Their family tried to obtain information about
their whereabouts but to no avail.
Three months later, an ISIS religious judge came to the two men with
a solution. A former prisoner of ISIS told Al-Akhbar, "Abu Issa told
them: Convert to Islam and you will be safe." Naturally, they quickly
agreed, declaring the shahada. Then, the two "Muslim Armenians"
were sent back to their cell "temporarily."
Though Abu Issa had promised to release them, three days later Minas
asked an "investigator" frequenting the prison about the reasons
behind the delay. He answered, "The emir was not convinced by your
Islam." Minas asked, "How was he not? We swore!" The investigator
replied, "You, people of the book, your bible is distorted and your
beliefs are void. You must have pretended that you converted to Islam
to fool us."
According to the source, before the battles between ISIS and the armed
opposition groups reached the prison, the two men were told, along
with other prisoners, that they would appear before a judge. However,
the judge was a gun, and the verdict was two bullets in the head.
The tragedy didn't end with their death. A family member told
Al-Akhbar, "We found out about their death over the Internet. It was
very sad."
The relatives sought to retrieve the bodies. "We wanted to hold a
decent burial for them, is not that the minimum we can do?"
Finally, some volunteers at a civil society organization managed
to locate the bodies being held by the Aleppo Sharia Committee,
which refused to hand over the body. Reportedly, the committee said,
"This is impossible. They declared their Islam. They are now martyrs
and should be buried in a proper way, according to Sharia."
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/18259/