GUFRAN AL-HABIS

Aleppo- Following the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, the relatives of prisoners went to the country's prisons to look for relatives, hoping that they would find and reunite loved ones alive in prisons; however, some were disappointed. The papers found in prisons revealed the tragedy of the prisoners. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which came to power in Syria, has ignored the suffering and desperation of the relatives of the prisoners. Some relatives are still waiting for the return of their husbands or children, raising their voices against the ongoing silence about their loved ones.

She receives no information about her husband

The husband of 40-year-old Kawthar Jundi, mother of one, was arrested by the security forces 10 years ago. “We still do not know why my husband was arrested. All he did was to travel to Lebanon, which was the beginning of the end of our lives,” Kawthar Jundi told NuJINHA. “I never thought I would be left alone with my child at this age. The arrest of my husband completely changed our life. At the beginning, my child did not understand what was happening; I told him that his father was on a journey. Over time, he started asking questions about his father and I had to tell that his father had been arrested.”

‘I could not find him’

Following the fall of the Essad regime, the doors of the regime’s notorious prisons were opened. “When the doors were opened and the release of the prisoners started, I felt hopeful again after years of suffering and waiting. I went to the prison with my son and waited for hours to learn something about my husband. People were released and I hoped to hear his name. However, I could not find him in Sednaya.”

During the rule of the Assad regime, Kawthar Jundi searched for her husband. “I always went to the police station to learn something about him. However, I was blackmailed and threatened for asking where my husband was. The police officers treated me as if I was a criminal and always kicked me out. I had nothing but tears, no one cared for me. I always returned home empty-handed. Following the overthrow of the Assad regime, the doors of the prisons were opened and I went to the prison in hope. The hope that filled me turned into indescribable pain.”

Kawthar Jundi criticizes the government led by HTS for not launching an investigation into the disappeared people to reveal the truth. “We do not know if our relatives are alive or killed. There is silence.”

 ‘We deserve to know the fate of our loved ones’

Kawthar Jundi called on the authorities to launch an investigation to learn the fate of the people who disappeared in prisons. “We have been suffering and asking where our relatives are for years. Now, we do not know what to do. We deserve to know the fate of our loved ones. I want to learn why my husband was arrested. If he died, where is his grave? As the relatives of the disappeared people, we want to know if our loved ones are still alive and we will keep raising our voices for them. I am still hopeful about learning the truth that we have been longing for.”