BERLIN, GERMANY – March 2, 2026 –
Colleagues and family members of Ahmet Polad and Eva Maria Michelmann have not heard from them since January 18, when they were last seen in Raqqa.
Ahmet Polad, editor at Kurdistan Azad and producer for Özgür TV, and Eva Maria Michelmann, an international freelance journalist, were in the city to report on the Syrian Transitional Government’s (STG) military campaign against DAANES-controlled territories.
On January 18, Raqqa came under heavy attack. After leaving their office, Ahmed and Eva sought refuge in a building alongside other civilians, where they were subsequently besieged by STG forces. Many of the people in the building were eventually relocated to another site following negotiations conducted by the Syrian Democratic Forces. Although Ahmed and Eva were supposed to be included in this transfer, they were never seen again after being placed in an STG vehicle.
Their disappearance is of grave concern. We call for their immediate and safe release and demand a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding their abduction.
Background
On January 6, the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) armed forces launched an attack on the Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo, killing more than 45 civilians. Although it seized the neighborhoods and a ceasefire agreement was reached on January 10, dozens, if not hundreds, of security personnel and civilians are still unaccounted for after going missing during the attacks or being rounded up by the STG in large-scale arrests.
On January 13, STG forces directly attacked the territories of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES). On the 18th, the attacks reached the city of Raqqa, from which the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew in confusion. Thousands of civilians, mainly Kurdish, fled the city, fearing for their lives and ethnically targeted human rights violations. Due to the rapid pace of the attacks and the realignment of several Arab tribes in favor of the STG, many were unable to withdraw or flee and became trapped in the city. Disturbing videos show SDF fighters being executed while lying unarmed on the ground, including cases in which their throats appear to have been slit.
On the road from Raqqa to Hasakah, where civilians and fighters were fleeing, at least ten civilians and dozens of SDF fighters were summarily executed, as shown by multiple video recordings and corroborated by civilian witnesses who spoke to human rights watchdogs such as CPT and Hevdestî-Synergy, as well as many news sources. Many others were taken captive and have not been heard from since, as the prisoner exchanges that were supposed to take place between the STG and the SDF were postponed by the former. Many other witnesses and videos testify to the torture and degrading treatment of prisoners. These executions and rights violations, that could amount to war crimes, have been denounced by the European parliament and UN experts.
Context of Ahmet Polad and Eva Maria Michelmann’s Disappearance
On the morning of January 18, Ahmed and Eva were working at the Özgür TV office in Raqqa when reports emerged that STG forces were approaching. Ahmed shared several videos from the office with Özgür TV. As the situation deteriorated, the two journalists headed to the building of a youth organization affiliated with DAANES, where they sought refuge alongside 40 other people, mostly civilians. At the same time, numerous institutions in the city were attacked, intense clashes broke out, and summary executions reportedly took place in certain neighborhoods.
The people gathered in the building defended themselves against attacks by armed groups in order to prevent them from approaching and committing a massacre. In the evening, the building was completely surrounded by these heavily armed groups. At nightfall, the attacks on the two-story building intensified. The assailants first entered the ground floor, and clashes took place inside the building for several hours, leaving many people killed or wounded.
Journalist Ahmet Polad reported on these events through multiple video updates. Due to electricity cuts and internet outages, communication with Polad was severed in the evening. As nearby SDF forces were unable to secure access to the building, they negotiated with STG forces for the remaining individuals to be transferred to Al-Aqtan Prison, north of Raqqa, where many SDF fighters and civilians had sought refuge.
Because of continued electricity cuts and internet disruptions, as well as the attack on the prison in the following days, Polad and Michelmann remained unreachable for an extended period. It was initially believed that the entire group who had been besieged in central Raqqa had reached the prison. However, a few days later, when telephone communications were reestablished, it became clear that the two journalists were not among them.
Several individuals who had been in the same building as Ahmed and Eva stated that, as they were leaving the building, they saw Polad and Michelmann being taken into a vehicle by STG military forces. They have not been seen since.
Statement of a Syrian Journalists Union
In its statement, the Free Press Union (YRA), based in DAANES, noted that Eva Maria Michelmann, a German journalist born in 1989, had been working in Rojava and North and East Syria since 2022, preparing news reports for various media organizations, including the ETHA Agency and Özgür TV. It stated that Michelmann had been covering developments on the ground, attacks on towns and villages, as the Rojava Revolution.
The YRA called on all relevant parties to “fulfill their legal and ethical responsibilities” and demanded that “the fate of the journalists be clarified immediately.” It emphasized that journalists must be protected under international law.
