The Suwayda 24 network, a local outlet focused on news from Suweida in southern Syria, has reported the passing of a Syrian-American detainee in the custody of the Syrian regime from the governorate.
According to the network on Wednesday, a source within the Matni family confirmed the passing of Jamal Shaheen al-Matni. He had been held by the Syrian regime’s security services for over two years.
The announcement of his death follows information received by the family, which they claim has been verified. The family stated that funeral prayers for the deceased will take place on Thursday, as the authorities have not yet released his body.
Matni, who was in his seventies, was abducted in July 2021 by an armed militia affiliated with Military Intelligence before being transferred to the intelligence service in Damascus.
Despite extensive efforts by the family to ascertain the whereabouts of the detainee, they remained unaware of the charges brought against him by the regime’s security forces. Communication was severed when he was transferred to the Sednaya detention center.
Matni, a Syrian-American dual citizen, was taken captive shortly after visiting Syria for a vacation, as reported by Suwayda 24. The Matni family reached out to U.S. authorities regarding the incident but received only assurances of further investigation.
This announcement comes less than two weeks after the reported death of American citizen Majd Kam Almaz in Syrian regime prisons. Almaz had disappeared in Damascus seven years prior, according to the Associated Press, citing the testimony of the doctor’s daughter, based on detailed intelligence gathered after meetings with eight “senior U.S. officials.”
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
