'He paid for freedom with his soul': Syrian activist Mazen Al-Hamada buried in Damascus

Body of political activist who returned from Europe in 2020 was found bearing marks of torture

The flag-draped casket of Syrian activist Mazen Al-Hamad during his funeral in Damascus. Getty Images

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Syrian activist Mazen Al-Hamada was buried in Damascus this afternoon after his body was found in a hospital in the capital – one of tens of thousands of people killed during the Assad family’s 50-year rule.

Members of Al-Hamada’s family identified his body on Tuesday after it was found bearing marks of severe torture in the Harasta military hospital in the capital’s north-eastern suburbs, according to a funeral notice issued by his family and a Syrian political analyst from Deir Ezzor.

“Mazen is a fighter, a national Syrian symbol, who paid for freedom with his soul. We will never forget him,” Mohammed Hassan, a political analyst, who was close to Mr Al-Hamada’s family, told The National.

Footage from the capital Damascus showed large crowds around Mr Al-Hamada's coffin, draped in the three-starred Syrian flag used by opponents to Mr Al Assad. Those paying their respects gathered for prayers at the Abdulrahman Mosque before he was buried in the Neja cemetery, south of the capital.

The Syrian Emergency Task Force, an advocacy group with which Mr Al-Hamada, 47, worked, described him as, “a fearless advocate for justice and a symbol of resilience in the face of tyranny,” on X.

Mr Al-Hamada had received political asylum in the Netherlands after fleeing Syria in 2014 after multiple previous detentions for opposing the Assad regime. He toured western capitals, publicly sharing details of the torture he had suffered. However, he became disillusioned with the lack of interest in Syria from foreign governments.

He returned to Damascus in 2020 after being given reassurances from the Assad regime that he would be safe. He was detained upon arrival and disappeared into the country’s brutal prison network.

In an interview with Syria TV, two female relatives of Mr Al-Hamada said they had been threatened by pro-Assad authorities if he did not come back to Syria.

“They threatened us – if he doesn’t come, we will arrest the whole family. That’s why he came,” one of the relatives said.

They said they recognised his body by a mark above his left eyebrow and his teeth. Four other members of Mr Al-Hamada’s family are still missing.

Pictures of the activist's body were first shared online on Monday after about 40 bloodied bodies were uncovered by journalists and medical teams at the Harasta military hospital. His body was wrapped in a bloody white sheet, his eyes and nose deformed and his face bruised and swollen. It was not clear exactly when he had been killed.

Thousands of political prisoners and people detained for simply showing support for anti-Assad protests have been freed from Syrian prisons in the past week since rebels overthrew the Assad regime.

But tens of thousands more remain unaccounted for and families are desperately searching for details of their loved ones. Fadel Abdul Ghany, founder of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, said that it was probable that most of those still missing are no longer alive. “Most of those forcibly disappeared in Syria who were held by the regime were killed,” he told Syria TV.