Photos of the funeral for victims of a deadly prison fire and riot in northern Syria

KOBANI, Syria (AP) — Mourners gathered in Kobani for the funeral of at least seven people killed in a prison fire and riot. The unrest reportedly began over plans to transfer inmates to Aleppo during tensions between Kurdish authorities and Syria’s government.

Mourners attend a mass funeral for prisoners who died in a fire that broke out during unrest at the local prison in the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani, northern Syria, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

A Kurdish flag flies over central Kobani, northern Syria, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026.(AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Women mourn during a mass funeral for prisoners who died in a fire that broke out during unrest at the local prison in the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani, northern Syria, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Fighters with the Kurdish Women's Protection Units, or YPJ, stand during a funeral ceremony for prisoners who died in a fire that broke out during unrest at the local prison following days of tensions and protests in the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani, northern Syria, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Mourners attend a funeral for prisoners who died in a fire that broke out during unrest at the local prison following days of tensions and protests in the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani, northern Syria, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

A mourner holds a portrait of one of the prisoners who died in a fire that broke out during unrest at the local prison, during a mass funeral in the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani, northern Syria, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Mourners holding portraits gather beside graves during a mass funeral for prisoners who died in a fire that broke out during unrest at the local prison in the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani, northern Syria, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Mourners carry the coffin of one of the prisoners who died in a fire that broke out during unrest at the local prison, during a mass funeral in the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani, northern Syria, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Mourners attend a funeral for prisoners who died in a fire that broke out during unrest at the local prison following days of tensions and protests in the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani, northern Syria, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man charged with murder in the hanging death of a Black woman in Mississippi pleaded not guilty Monday during his first court appearance.

The body of Tasia Fortune, 29, was found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned home in Jackson, the state capital, on Aug. 3.

On Friday, police arrested 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff on a murder charge after the state medical examiner deemed her death a homicide. Ratliff is also Black.

During Monday's brief hearing in Municipal Court, a judge denied bond for Ratliff, who told the court he's not guilty. Ratliff's attorney at the hearing left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

The case has attracted widespread attention because the manner of Fortune's death recalled lynchings in the Southern state, which has a tumultuous civil rights history stained by episodes of racial violence.

Police and prosecutors haven't given a suspected motive or said whether they think race played any role.

Police Chief RaShall Brackney said Friday that Ratliff, 51, had an “association” with Fortune, but she didn't elaborate. The chief also said additional arrests are expected.

Prosecutors on Monday offered few new details in court, though they said Fortune had been hanged with a “black cable cord” and that Ratliff had tried to hide from officers in a vehicle the day of his arrest.

Brackney and other police officials who attended Ratliff's hearing Monday declined to comment afterward.

A Kentucky native, Fortune had a Black father and a white mother, though she identified as Black, said Christy Spivey, the dead woman's mother. Fortune had been living in Jackson for about 10 years, according to relatives. Fortune had four children, Spivey said, adding she rarely saw two of her grandchildren.

Spivey wasn’t sure where Fortune was living when she died, but she said her daughter had struggled with homelessness in recent years. She said Fortune had talked recently about starting a cleaning business and was trying to get her life in order.

Two other Mississippi hanging deaths over the past year — those of a Black student at Delta State University and a homeless white man in Vicksburg — also drew widespread attention. Both of those deaths were deemed to be suicides.

This story has been corrected to show that Spivey said she rarely saw two of Fortune's four children, not that Fortune rarely saw two of her own children.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

Christy Spivey poses with a portrait of her late daughter Tasia Fortune, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Marion, Ky. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)