The family of German journalist Eva Maria Michelmann, missing in Syria for over two and a half months, demands that the Syrian transitional government disclose what it knows about the case. A new witness statement points to involvement by regime-aligned militias. Germany's Foreign Ministry confirms it is still working on the case.
Eva Maria Michelmann, 36, went missing in January in Raqqa during an offensive by Syrian government troops and allied Islamist militias in a previously Kurdish-controlled area. Witnesses reported that she was taken with Kurdish journalist Ahmed Polad into a vehicle linked to transitional government forces.
A Kurdish web portal has published an interview with Jassem Mohammed, who claims to have witnessed the incident on January 18 at the Al-Shabiba youth center. Michelmann aimed to document the war and the resurgence of IS. Mohammed recognized a high-ranking militia commander from the Syrian regime's power apparatus.
While most of the group escaped with help from local security forces, the journalists were taken away separately. Her brother Antonius Michelmann from Cologne told DER SPIEGEL: "It is now no longer possible for the Syrian transitional regime to cite the unclear situation or lack of knowledge." He expects concrete results from Germany's Foreign Ministry.
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said current developments would not be commented on due to privacy reasons. As of late March, it was stated: "We are on it." This coincided with the visit of Syrian transitional president Ahmed al-Sharaa to Berlin.
