Publication date: November 2020
This report highlights the experiences of 344 families who have been made victims of enforced disappearances by the Syrian regime, including the first moment of the disappearance and what they knew about its circumstances, the search and investigation efforts, and the latest of what they know about the fate of their disappeared relatives.
The experiences of families seeking missing persons are some of the most tragic stories in the Syrian conflict: The police and security branches rarely officially disclose any information about their detainees. Not all the families of the disappeared have the audacity to go to the security branches to claim their sons. Families may try to get some information through paying large bribes to security agents and officers, which often turns into fraud and financial and emotional blackmail. The third channel to get information is through the sightings of surviving detainees. Many families are quick to reach out to every newly released detainee in their vicinity, carrying pictures of their sons, hoping that this person might identify their loved one(s). Despite all their efforts, families mostly get conflicting information, increasing their suffering.
Some main findings:
- About 49% of the cases disappeared at regime checkpoints.
- 19% of the cases disappeared following raids on their homes.
- In 32% of the cases, more than five people disappeared alongside the main person in question, and in certain incidents the figures amounted to more than 100 people who disappeared at the same time, which support the collective and indiscriminate nature of many enforced disappearances.
- 15% of families in the report were informed of their disappeared loved one’s death.
- 85% of the families are still wondering: are they still alive?
