Syria04 August, 20263 min read
Syrian Missing Persons Commission Says Bassam Bahra and Son Samih Were Killed After Detention
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National Commission for Missing Persons revealed the fate of Bassam Bahra and his son Samih. Investigations showed they were killed after detention by security forces.
Bahra fate disclosed
The National Commission for the Missing announced on Tuesday, August 4, that it had revealed the fate of father Bassam Bahra and his son Samih, who disappeared in Damascus on April 28, 2013. The Commission said its search, verification, and information-gathering operations were conducted in coordination with the Syrian Ministry of Interior, and that the results showed the father and son were killed after being led away by members of the security apparatus of the former regime to a house in Damascus. SANA reported that the Commission stated the searches for the remains would continue in coordination with the competent authorities to locate them, verify their identity, and return them to the family for a dignified funeral.
“After 13 years of waiting... the fate of a father and son who disappeared in Damascus was revealed.”
In a statement published on its Telegram channel, the Commission said, "The searches and verifications have confirmed that they were killed after being taken by the security services of the ousted regime in a house in Damascus," and it said the family was informed of the results in accordance with approved procedures. The Commission also reiterated its commitment to continue efforts to shed light on the fate of all missing persons in Syria, to respect the dignity of the victims, and to guarantee the right of their families to know the truth.
Names, kidnapping details
Al-Jazeera Net reported that Bassam Bahra and his son Samih were kidnapped by Amjad Yusuf and his partner Kamel Abbas and taken to a house in the al-Tadamon neighborhood, where they were killed the same day, according to daughter Kanda on her Facebook page. The same source described Kanda’s account that her father used to help the injured in the suburbs of Damascus that were being shelled, while her brother Samih was a fifth-year medical student and a musician who had not yet reached twenty-four. Al-Jazeera Net also said the Syrian Interior Minister Anas al-Khattab announced in April of the past year the arrest of Amjad Yusuf, the principal suspect in the Damascus Mezzah Project massacre in 2013.
In its own statement, the National Authority for the Missing said investigations showed the father and son were killed after being taken by members of the security forces of the former regime to a house in Damascus, and that family members were informed of the results according to approved procedures. The Commission said its efforts would continue to locate the remains, in coordination with the competent authorities, in preparation for verifying the identity and delivering them to the family for burial in a manner befitting the dignity of the victims.
Missing persons scale
The case of Bassam Bahra and his son Samih was disclosed alongside a broader accounting of missing persons in Syria, with the United Nations saying Syria is among the countries with the most missing persons in absolute numbers or the rate of missing persons to the population. In July, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and head of the independent authority for missing persons in Syria, Carla Kantana, said at a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York that "the search for missing persons cannot be done individually, but requires a collective effort at national and international levels." The Television Arabic report said the United Nations stated the number of missing people in Syria amounts to hundreds of thousands, most of whom disappeared during Bashar al-Assad’s rule (2000-2024).
Al-Jazeera Net added that Carla Cantana announced the foundation had processed more than 75,000 documents during the past year and that its estimate indicated about 130,000 missing people before the fall of the regime. That same report said that after the fall of the Assad regime and according to the National Authority for the Missing, the number of missing in Syria is estimated between 130,000 and 300,000 people, and it stressed that almost every Syrian family knows someone who is missing or has lost a family member.