Palestinian families searching for relatives imprisoned in Syria

Palestinian families reacted to the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime with mixed emotions. While tens of thousands of detainees have been released from the regime’s prisons, including many Palestinians who had been missing for years, the news has brought both relief and uncertainty.

“We are living with tension, anxiety, fear, hope, and joy all at once, waiting to learn the fate of our father,” said Majd al-Nawati, the son of Muhib al-Nawati, a Palestinian journalist from Gaza City who has been detained in a Syrian prison for 13 years. He shared his thoughts with The New Arab.

On 31 December 2011, Muhib al-Nawati travelled to Syria to work on translating the book Hamas from the Inside. According to Majd, his father remained in contact with the family until 5 January 2012.

“Since then, we have received no confirmed news about my father’s fate,” Majd said. “Some told us that Syrian authorities detained him, but no one has verified this.”

After years of uncertainty, the Nawati family finally confirmed through a human rights organisation that he was being held in one of the Syrian regime’s prisons, though no further details were disclosed.

“For so many years, we’ve lived in real agony without knowing what happened to my father. When we heard about Assad’s regime falling, hope returned—we thought we might finally learn the truth,” Majd added. Yet, as of now, the family has received no positive updates about Muhib.

On Sunday, 8 December, former dictator Bashar al-Assad’s rule came to an abrupt end following a rapid rebel offensive that stunned the world. Syrians poured into the streets to celebrate, while thousands flocked to prisons to free detainees.

Videos flooded social media, capturing this historic moment. Amid the celebrations, somber scenes unfolded as prisoners, many of whom had been missing for decades in Assad’s prisons, were released.

Palestinian organisations, including the Working Group for Palestinians in Syria, estimate that approximately 3,085 Palestinians have been detained in Assad’s prisons since 2011. There are no official figures for Palestinians detained before 2010, including those imprisoned for decades.

The Working Group reported that around 630 Palestinian prisoners have been freed, among them individuals previously declared missing or dead.

One such prisoner was Sabri Daraghma, an elderly Palestinian man from the village of Lubban al-Sharqiyah in the northern West Bank. After spending four decades in Assad’s jails, Sabri was finally released.

“I never imagined my brother was still alive,” said Essam Daraghma, Sabri’s brother, in an interview with The New Arab.

“I have mixed feelings—joy for his release, but deep sadness that our parents didn’t live to see this day,” added the 69-year-old father of four.

Like dozens of other Palestinian families, the Daraghma family was informed by the Palestinian embassy in Syria that their loved one was alive. They are now completing the official procedures to bring him home.

Sabri Daraghma had been a fighter in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), moving between Lebanon and Syria and participating in the war between Israel and Palestinian factions in Lebanon. He disappeared in 1982, according to Essam.

“Every passing minute feels like an eternity,” Essam said, his eyes welling up with tears. “I can’t wait to finally reunite with my brother.”