In the case of journalists Eva Maria Michelmann and Ahmed Polad (civil name Mehmet Nizam Aslan), who were abducted in January, indications regarding their whereabouts are becoming more concrete. According to new witness statements, both are alive and are reportedly being held in a prison in Aleppo, northern Syria, the Istanbul-based news agency ETHA reported.
The two journalists were abducted on January 18 in Raqqa during the offensive of the Syrian transitional government against the Kurdish autonomous administration areas. Since then, there has been no trace of them. To this day, the Islamist leadership in Damascus has refused to provide any information about their whereabouts. Now, several witnesses consistently report that Michelmann and Polad are being held in a prison of the transitional government in Aleppo.
SDF fighter shared a cell with Polad
Particularly detailed is the testimony of a fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who was released as part of a recent prisoner exchange. He reports that he himself was held for several months in the so-called “General Security Center” in Aleppo. A video statement from this witness was forwarded to the lawyer of the Michelmann family, Roland Meister. The lawyer intends to submit the recording to the German authorities.
The witness states that he was captured on January 17 in Deir Hafer and subsequently taken to Aleppo. There, several hundred hostages were held, separated by men and women. According to the witness, Ahmed Polad was also in this prison. The witness already knew him beforehand as a journalist.
Journalist injured in Raqqa
Polad was initially held in solitary confinement for a long period. About a week to ten days before the prisoner exchange on April 11, he was temporarily brought into the shared cell. “I am one hundred percent sure because we were together,” the witness reports, according to ETHA. “He came, stayed with us for a few days, and was then taken away again.”
According to his account, Polad was injured during the attacks in Raqqa—on his hand and abdomen. However, he was treated in a hospital and is currently in stable condition.
Indications regarding Eva Maria Michelmann
The testimony also provides indications about the whereabouts of Eva Maria Michelmann. The witness himself did not see her directly, but Ahmed Polad reportedly stated that his Cologne-based colleague had also been brought to the same prison. These claims are supported by other former prisoners. Several witnesses independently report having heard about a “German journalist” in the prison. According to statements from female hostages who were recently released, around 40 women are still being held in the prison in Aleppo, including Michelmann.
Reports of abuse
The SDF witness also reports severe mistreatment during detention. Prisoners were beaten, insulted, and in some cases deliberately starved. Many inmates suffered injuries as a result of torture. He describes the conditions in the prison as systematically violent. The new findings increase pressure on the Syrian transitional government to comment on the whereabouts of the journalists. So far, there has been no official confirmation or statement regarding their detention.
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