Syrian Families Face Agonizing Wait for News of Detained Relatives

Since thousands of prisoners were released following the fall of the Assad regime on Sunday, families of Syrian detainees have initiated searches for their missing loved ones. The BBC has been informed by the family of a Syrian dentist, apprehended with her six children, that they continue to hope for their discovery; similarly, the sister of a single mother who vanished mysteriously is also searching. Concurrently, the daughter of a US-based psychotherapist, abducted in 2017 and presumed deceased, has expressed renewed optimism, having been encouraged by videos showing individuals previously declared dead being found alive. In recent weeks, rebel forces advanced across the country, liberating thousands of political prisoners from government detention facilities, including the infamous Saydnaya prison located near the capital, Damascus. However, given that torture and executions were prevalent in these locations under Bashar al-Assad’s government, many individuals are still awaiting confirmation as to whether their relatives are among those who have been freed. Ghinwa Muhammad Azzam disappeared in 2017 while in the port city of Latakia. Her sister, Sanaa, tearfully conveyed to the BBC her lack of knowledge regarding the circumstances of her sister’s disappearance or the identity of her abductors after she left for her work as a rug maker. Described as a “beautiful” and “very loving” single mother, she was not believed to be politically active or affiliated with any opposition parties. Apart from a solitary call to her daughter six weeks after her disappearance, during which she said “just pray for me”, Sanaa reported that Ms. Azzam has not been heard from since. Sanaa stated, “I want closure, I want to know if she is dead or hurt.” She recounted that a relative contacted a prison guard two years ago, who indicated Ms. Azzam was in a high-security prison with an injured leg—”so we think they were torturing her”—but provided no further details. The “vanishing” of Ms. Azzam’s Facebook profile leads Sanaa to suspect her sister was apprehended by the Syrian government. She further added: “We still hope to find her alive”, but after viewing online videos of released prisoners, she remarked, “I actually pray she is dead, it is heartbreaking”. Subsequent to the overthrow of the Syrian government, civilians converged on the notorious Saydnaya prison, located north of the capital city of Damascus, hoping to discover information about missing loved ones believed to have been detained there. The facility, described as a “human slaughterhouse” by rights groups, was reportedly where thousands of individuals were detained, tortured, and executed under the Assad regime. Individuals who gained access to the military jail disseminated footage on social media depicting the stark internal conditions. Sanaa, residing in Texas, stated, “I have relatives in Aleppo, but it is not easy for them to travel to Damascus to see the prison or look for missing people.” She added, “I hope to save my sister.” Rania Al-Abassi was apprehended at her Damascus home in March 2013 by Syrian military intelligence officers. Her children, ranging in age from two to 14 years old, were also taken to prison. Her husband, Abdul Rahman Yasin, had been arrested the preceding day. Rania’s sister, Naila Al-Abassi, a doctor residing in Saudi Arabia, informed the BBC that “we cannot accept that Rania was killed”. Naila expressed, “Since the fall of the regime, we really hope we can see Rania and her kids again. Especially, we want to see her six children.” At the time of their arrest, Ms. Abassi’s children—Dima, Entisar, Najah, Alaa, Ahmed, and Layan—were 14, 13, 11, eight, six, and two years old, respectively. Naila recounted, “They took Rania with her kids and since that day we don’t know anything about them.” The family has received only a single piece of information regarding their detainment, which emerged shortly after the arrest. They suspect the family was held at a Damascus prison, known as the Palestine branch, which was operated by Syrian intelligence. In 2013, a released female inmate informed the family that she had heard children’s voices in the prison approximately two weeks after the arrest. With prisoners now released, family members in the region have visited the prisons in an attempt to locate them. Naila remarked, “We are watching the news and seeing people released from the prisons and looking at the videos to see if we can see them.” She continued, “But the prisons have been opened and we haven’t seen Rania yet. It is unbearable.” She further stated, “We were waiting for this day for 13 years.” Naila concluded, “But our wounds are still fresh now as if it happened yesterday.” Majd Kamalmaz, a psychotherapist from Texas, went missing in Syria in 2017. His daughter, Maryam, informed the BBC that she continues her efforts to ascertain his fate. Mr. Kamalmaz had journeyed to Damascus to visit an elderly relative. On the second day of his visit, Mr. Kamalmaz—a Syrian native who was raised and resided in the US—was detained at a Syrian government checkpoint in Damascus and has not been observed or contacted since. Earlier this year, US intelligence officials conveyed to his family that they possessed credible, classified intelligence indicating his death in prison. However, Maryam Kamalmaz rejects the notion that her father might not be alive. She stated, “The FBI told us he was dead – but they did not have a body or any concrete information.” She added, “We are seeing stories of people [who] were declared dead and given death certificates and then they actually turned out to be alive.” Maryam continued, “It renews our hope to find him alive. But if we don’t, then at least we want to find his remains and have some sort of closure.” Maryam further mentioned, “We have people inside Syria going to the hospitals with high hopes, as well as to Saydnaya prison.” She elaborated, “I keep looking at the pictures and videos of people coming out of the Saydnaya prison, and thinking maybe I will see him there.” Maryam stated her lack of knowledge regarding the reason for her father’s abduction. Her family speculates he might have been detained by the Assad family as leverage due to his American nationality.