Archive · 8 Dec 2025
Families Seek Answers on Missing Detainees in Syria
A year after the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was removed from power, families of missing detainees are still searching for answers.
Around 150,000 people disappeared under Assad's rule, and many families hoped that with his fall, they would finally learn what happened to their loved ones.
However, a national commission set up to investigate these disappearances has not yet provided any concrete information.
Families like Amina Beqai, whose husband and brother are missing, are desperately searching online and through other means for any clues.
The commission says it is working carefully and systematically, but activists and families are frustrated by the lack of progress and transparency.
They hope that with international cooperation, they will eventually get the answers they need to find closure.
A year after Assad's ouster, families of missing detainees in Syria still lack answers about their loved ones.
A National Commission for Missing Persons was established in May 2024 but has not yet provided any clues to families.
Around 150,000 people are estimated to have disappeared under Assad's rule, with many held in notorious prisons like Sednaya.
Families are frustrated by the lack of progress and transparency from the national commission, which has not yet launched a database of the missing.
Activists accuse the commission of monopolizing detention-related documents and excluding them from the process, slowing down progress.
- Who
- Families of missing detainees in Syria, including Amina Beqai and Sarah al-Khattab
- What
- The struggle to find information about their missing loved ones after Assad's ouster
- When
- A year after Assad's fall, as of December 8, 2024
- Where
- Syria, particularly near Damascus and other regions
- Why
- Despite Assad's removal, the national commission has not provided answers, and families are left in limbo
- Estimated Missing Detainees
- 150,000
- National Commission Established
- May 2024
- Assad's Ouster
- December 8, 2024
- Notorious Prison
- Sednaya
- Commission's Media Adviser
- Zeina Shahla
- Expected Database Launch
- 2025
- Expected Mass Grave Exhumations
- 2027
- Cooperation Agreement
- November 2024 with ICRC and ICMP