The Syrian Emergency Task Force is heartbroken to announce the horrific death of our friend Mazen Alhammada, a courageous activist, human rights defender, and unwavering voice for the Syrian people. His life and work were a testament to the pursuit of justice in the face of tyranny.
Mazen was our friend. We loved him like family. We met Mazen after he was first released from Assad’s dungeons, where he suffered unimaginable torture until 2013. He became a part of the SETF team and we traveled the world with him to help him fulfill his purpose to free the detainees and to show the world the horrors of the Assad regime.
Together, we hosted Caesar exhibits with Mazen on panels in Malaysia, Italy and Arkansas, with Caesar’s infamous photos of tortured civilians on display behind him. We went to Congress, where Mazen met with multiple members, leaving rooms full of tears. We connected Mazen to the most prominent news outlets to maximize his voice, the voice of hundreds of thousands of detainees who were still missing, locked in Assad’s dungeons, systematically tortured and killed. Mazen bared his soul to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum leadership, moving around the room and on the floor to show how the Regime would torture him daily. We visited schools, churches, mosques, and volunteers, where he inspired and gained friends around the world. Mazen told his story to anyone who would listen, and everyone was horrified and moved by his experiences.
Mazen shocked the world when he returned to Syria on February 22, 2020, after being lured back to Damascus by the Assad Regime, who promised he would have a key role in liberating Syrians. We saw Mazen’s spirit and psychological state deteriorate as time went by without any international action to help the detainees in Syria or his country at all.
Mazen will be remembered for his passion for the Revolution. He raised his voice to sing Revolutionary songs, dancing, clapping, while delighting in his dream of a future Syria, free from Assad.
The circumstances of Mazen’s death underscore the heavy price borne by those who dared speak out against Assad’s brutal regime. Photographs and videos show Mazen was brutally and forcefully tortured and executed at Harasta hospital hours before the rebels liberated Damascus on December 7th. SETF calls on the international community to honor Mazen’s legacy by holding Assad and his cronies accountable for their crimes against humanity.
“We counted every day that Mazen was missing and held on to a glimmer of hope that he might still be alive. Had he survived, he would be dancing and singing revolutionary songs in the streets of his beloved country with his fellow free Syrians,” said Natalie Larrison, SETF’s Director of Humanitarian Programs, who knew Mazen well and was one of the last people to speak to him before he was arrested again in 2020.
We extend our deepest condolences to Mazen’s family, friends, and all who knew and loved him. His loss is immeasurable, but his legacy will endure in the ongoing fight to hold Mazen’s torturers accountable and help all Syrians live in dignity and peace.