German journalist Eva Maria Michelmann has been missing since January 18, when the northeastern Syrian city of Raqqa fell to government forces during an offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. She was with her colleague Kurdish-Turkish journalist Ahmed Polad, who is also missing, according to their employers and relatives.
The two journalists, who worked for Istanbul-based socialist Etkin News Agency (ETHA) and Özgür TV, which operates across several cities in Europe, were last seen leaving a building affiliated with Kurdish authorities with civilians fleeing the city, when they were separated from the crowd and placed “in a separate vehicle” belonging to Syrian government forces, according to ETHA.
Toni Michelmann, the German journalist’s brother, said she was detained “by forces of the Syrian transitional government,” telling CPJ that “there has been no sign of life from her” since.
Arzu Demir, a journalist and member of ETHA’s editorial board who also produces a program for Özgür TV, told CPJ: “Maria had been sending news reports to our agency from Rojava for about four years. For security reasons, we published her reports anonymously.”
“There is a witness statement claiming they were separated from the other people who were under siege in Raqqa and placed into another vehicle,” she added.
Roland Meister, Michelmann’s lawyer, told CPJ that they are in contact with the German government regarding the case, but “have not received any information about her so far.”
When contacted by messaging app for comment, Omar Haj Ahmed, director general of press affairs at the Syrian Ministry of Information, told CPJ that “the ministry does not have any information about the incident or the individuals, and no one has submitted any request or taken any formal action.” Morhaf al-Hussein, director of the Raqqa Governorate Media Directorate, also told CPJ by WhatsApp, he was following up on the case.