The two journalists were reportedly caught up during the capture of Raqqa, where they had been researching Islamist networks. While authorities cite security concerns, supporters point to their journalistic work and valid press credentials.

The Syrian transitional government officially confirmed on Friday that the missing German journalist Eva Maria Michelmann has been in detention for three months. According to the Ministry of Information, the 36-year-old from Cologne was arrested on 18 January in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa during a military operation and is now being held under the command of internal security in Aleppo. Detained alongside her is the Kurdish-Turkish journalist Ahmed Polad, a Turkish citizen whose legal name is Mehmet Nizam Aslan.

According to the Ministry of Information, the two were arrested in a building where fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had also barricaded themselves. It remains unclear what Michelmann and Polad are officially accused of.

The journalists were apparently caught up in a military offensive by the Syrian transitional government during the capture of Raqqa, which had previously been controlled by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), known as Rojava, and its military wing, the SDF. Two weeks after their arrest, DAANES and the transitional government reached an agreement under which Syria resumed state control over Raqqa.

According to eyewitnesses, Michelmann and Polad sought shelter in the building – a youth centre – together with families. Units of the SDF had also retreated into the building and were first shelled by Islamist tribal militias and then by the advancing government army before eventually being abducted.

Families criticise solitary confinement

Michelmann had been working in Syria for more than three years and reporting for Kurdish media. In Raqqa, the two journalists were working for the Istanbul-based socialist news agency Etkin News Agency (ETHA) and broadcaster Özgür TV. Previously, Michelmann had also campaigned in Cologne at rallies for Kurdish rights.

At the end of April, Michelmann’s family publicly expressed concern for her physical and psychological condition for the first time. According to its own statements, the German Foreign Office has since established contact with her. However, it has not disclosed which prison she is being held in. The family has criticised this as solitary confinement, as Michelmann still has no contact with the outside world.

The Syrian Ministry of Information stated that Michelmann had initially claimed to be a Spanish citizen working for an organisation linked to the United Nations. During the investigation, her German nationality was allegedly established. She had reportedly been unable to provide documents proving her journalistic assignment. Surveillance cameras had also documented that she and her companion had attempted to escape from custody.

“We expected retroactive criminalisation and further lies. We do not accept this and demand the immediate release of my sister and Ahmed Polad,” Michelmann’s brother Antonius told “nd”. He pointed out that the Syrian transitional government had still not confirmed the arrest even after the German Foreign Office had already announced contact with his sister.

Lawyer disputes account from Damascus

Lawyer Roland Meister, who represents both journalists and their relatives, also contradicted the account given by the Syrian Ministry of Information over the weekend. “The known actual sequence of events is that both were researching the resurgence and renewed activity of Islamic State cells in Raqqa in order to report on it. On the day in question, Raqqa was attacked by marauding Islamist Arab tribal militias. At the same time, IS cells became active. Civilians were killed, women raped and hundreds of people abducted,” a statement from his law firm said.

According to Meister, Michelmann and Polad had valid press credentials and maintained “connections” with the journalists’ association of Rojava. They had been travelling in Raqqa with the approval of the Rojava self-administration and the SDF. Last week, the international Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the Syrian authorities to immediately provide transparent information about the detention of Michelmann and Polad.

Published in German in „nd“.

Image: Supporters of Polad and Michelmann demand their release in Rojava (Rojava Information Center).