Desperate to find their missing relatives, relatives of Syrians who disappeared under the Assad regime demonstrated in Damascus on Friday. Despite the release of some detainees after Assad’s overthrow, the vast majority of the disappeared remain unaccounted for.
Among those demanding truth and justice is Wafa Mustafa, whose father was imprisoned under Assad. She says: “Our search for our missing relatives is not over. It will not end until we know the full truth about their fate. We accept nothing less than knowing all the details about what happened to them, who is responsible for their detention, who tortured them? If they were killed, then who killed them and where were they buried?”
Prisons under the Assad regime were notorious for their inhumane conditions. Human rights groups and former detainees say torture was widespread, something that has long troubled relatives of the disappeared. Marah Allawi, the mother of a missing detainee, said: “I saw how they tortured young men, how they put them in cages and tortured them. My son was among them, and then he disappeared. I ask the world to know where our sons are. My son has been missing for 12 years. He was 16 (that is, 18 when they arrested him). Where is he?”
Last year, the UN set up an independent body to uncover the fate of missing Syrians. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, more than 100,000 people have been missing since 2011.
The search for truth and justice for the disappeared in Syria remains a major challenge for families and human rights defenders. It is essential that light be shed on these tragic events to pay tribute to the victims and for justice to be done.