People’s Bridge, 29 July 2026

On 24 March 2026, several Members of the European Parliament, including Katrin Langensiepen (Greens/EFA) and Özlem Alev Demirel (Die Linke), wrote a joint letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The letter drew attention to the situation of the two journalists Ahmet Polad (who remains in captivity in Syria) and Eva Maria Michelmann (who was released on 19 June), as well as to the fate of a further 4,000 missing persons from Raqqa.

Among other things, the letter called for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and human rights organisations to be granted access to those abducted by the Syrian interim government.

The MEPs wrote: “This case goes beyond the two individuals concerned; it is a litmus test of Europe’s commitment to press freedom and human rights.”

In the months following the letter, Europe-wide campaigns to secure the release of the two journalists were launched, including the ‘Freedom for Eva and Ahmet’ initiative.

Eva Maria Michelmann’s family and her lawyer, Roland Meister, took part in three press conferences and were in contact with the Federal Foreign Office. They criticised the Federal Foreign Office’s lack of transparency and the German government’s cautious approach.

On 19 June, the German journalist Eva Maria Michelmann was flown back to Germany.

This partial success is primarily the result of the commitment of people acting in solidarity, who had been campaigning for Eva Maria Michelmann’s release for months. Ahmet Polad remains in prison – according to lawyer Roland Meister. Ahmet is being held incommunicado; consequently, his whereabouts and state of health remain unconfirmed.

Ursula von der Leyen’s response

In her response dated 17 July 2026, Ursula von der Leyen stated that the EU is closely monitoring the disappearance of the journalists Eva Maria Michelmann and Ahmet Polad, emphasises the protection of journalists, and calls on the Syrian transitional authorities to conduct an immediate, transparent and impartial investigation. At the same time, the EU stated that its Delegation to Syria had not yet received any official request for assistance from an EU Member State in this specific case, and that consular responsibility generally lies with the Member States.

The letter states: “At this stage, Delegation of the European Union to Syria has not received any requests for support from EU Member States on this specific matter.”

The EU also states: “The EU will continue to advocate for a safe and enabling environment for independent reporting and media in Syria, in line with international standards, and to support efforts that uphold freedom of expression and human rights.”

The EU points to the absence of a formal request for support from a Member State, thereby limiting its direct responsibility for this specific case. It remains unclear whether Germany has in fact not asked the EU for support or whether informal diplomatic contacts had already taken place; despite the political expressions of solidarity, no specific measures on the part of the EU itself are mentioned.

Freedom for Ahmet Polad!

Ahmet Polad (Mehmet Nizam Aslan) worked as a Kurdish journalist for the television channel Özgür TV and the news portal Kurdistana Azad. On 18 January 2026, he was abducted in Raqqa, together with Eva Maria Michelmann, by the security forces of the Syrian Transitional Government and has since been held in solitary confinement with no contact with the outside world. The Syrian Transitional Government has so far prevented any attempts by lawyers, family members or journalists to contact Ahmet Polad. According to information from former prisoners who saw him in Aleppo prison, he is suffering from injuries. We and Ahmet Polad’s family are deeply concerned about his state of health and his life.

We call on the EU Member States to end their friendly relations with Syria’s anti-democratic Transitional Government and to step up their efforts to secure the release of all journalists and abductees.

In view of the criminalisation of his employer in Turkey, Ahmet Polad must be granted the right to travel to a third country so that he can continue to carry out his work as a journalist.