Action Group – Damascus
A Palestinian survivor appealed to human rights organizations, humanitarian groups, and international institutions concerned with the issue of missing and forcibly disappeared persons, to help uncover the fate of 15 people from the families of Mawloud al-Abdullah and Hamad al-Abdullah. She stated that they were arrested and forcibly disappeared on July 27, 2013, and that no information about their fate has been received to this day.
The survivor, who preferred to remain anonymous for security reasons, explained that the missing persons belong to different age groups, including children, women, and the elderly, noting that all contact with them was lost on the day of their arrest.
According to her testimony, the arrests were carried out at that time by armed groups and local security forces. She emphasized that the families have not received any official information regarding the whereabouts or fate of their relatives over the past years.
In her appeal, the survivor stated that personal photographs of the missing persons represent the only remaining evidence the families have of their existence, urging their widespread dissemination in the hope of obtaining any information that might help determine their fate or whereabouts.
This case highlights the ongoing suffering of families of the missing and forcibly disappeared in Syria, including Palestinian refugees, thousands of whom remain missing or unaccounted for years after the conflict began.
Enforced disappearance is a grave violation of human rights under international law, with relevant international conventions and treaties stipulating the right of families to know the fate of their relatives and the necessity of effective investigations to determine the whereabouts of the missing and hold those responsible for violations accountable.