Security forces arrested Syrian Kurdish journalist Hassan Zaza on June 27, 2025, and held him incommunicado for nearly a week before releasing him on July 3.
Zaza, editor-in-chief of the Kurdish news platform Noos Social and a prominent member of the Free Media Union, was taken from his home in Damascus and held in an undisclosed location.
During Zaza’s detention, Syria’s Ministry of Information confirmed the arrest but claimed it was “related to security concerns and not his journalistic work.” Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Al-Saleh told CPJ by messaging app that the case was under investigation and Zaza would be released “if nothing was found.” He was freed six days later without any formal charges.
Zaza, who returned to Damascus from Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria after the December 2024 fall of President Bashar al-Assad, is also the Syrian representative to the International Federation of Arab Journalists. He previously worked with Ronahi TV, a Kurdish outlet linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is banned in Turkey.
“The Syrian government bears full responsibility for the safety of journalists like Hassan Zaza,” Avin Ibrahim, co-chair of the Free Media Union, told CPJ. “These recurring violations must come to an end.”
Zaza has not publicly commented on his detention.