German journalist Eva Maria Michelmann has been released after spending months in Syrian detention and has returned to Berlin, her lawyer said Monday, ending a prolonged period during which her whereabouts were largely unknown following her disappearance in northeastern Syria.
Michelmann, 36, was freed from a prison in Damascus on Friday and returned to Germany the same day. German media reported that she left Syria via Jordan, where family members met her at the airport in Amman before accompanying her home to Berlin.
Her brother said she had spent an extended period in solitary confinement but was “doing well under the circumstances.” Her attorney, Roland Meister, said her condition was “as good as can be expected under the circumstances,” while cautioning that the phrase should not be interpreted as minimizing the physical and psychological effects of her detention. Reports last week said witnesses had told her legal team that Michelmann underwent lengthy interrogations, including overnight questioning sessions, and lost a significant amount of weight while in custody.
Originally from Cologne, Michelmann had been reporting from Syria since 2022. She worked alongside Kurdish-Turkish journalist Ahmad Polat for the Istanbul-based ETHA news agency and Özgür TV, which operates from several European cities. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the pair covered developments in the Rojava region of northeastern Syria and the ongoing struggle over Kurdish-controlled territories.
Michelmann and Polat were last seen on January 18 in Raqqa during the Syrian government’s takeover of the city, which had previously been controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). CPJ said eyewitnesses reported that the journalists left a building associated with Kurdish authorities alongside civilians fleeing the city but were separated from the crowd and placed in a vehicle belonging to Syrian government forces. Shortly before contact was lost, Polat reportedly said the building where he was sheltering with civilians had come under siege and that he could no longer transmit reports because of the fighting.
For months, neither family received official information regarding their fate. Syrian authorities only acknowledged in April that Michelmann was being held after sustained pressure from journalist organizations and human rights groups. Germany’s Foreign Ministry later said it had secured consular access to her following what it described as intensive high-level diplomatic efforts.
Damascus previously claimed the two journalists were found during searches conducted by Syrian Interior Ministry forces at a building allegedly used as an SDF security headquarters. According to Syrian authorities, Michelmann and Polat failed to present identification documents, initially claimed to be engaged in U.N.-related humanitarian work and later attempted to evade detention. Officials said those circumstances raised suspicions that they were foreign fighters present in Syria illegally. No clear charges were publicly announced against either journalist.
Michelmann’s release was met with relief by her family. “I feel enormous relief that my sister is now free,” her brother, Antonius Michelmann, said. “This was only possible because of the tremendous solidarity shown toward Eva and Ahmad, and toward both of our families.” He added: “Now it is time for Ahmad to be released as well.”
Polat has not been freed and his exact whereabouts remain unclear. CPJ said it received information suggesting he may be held at a detention facility in Aleppo. A former SDF fighter who was previously released said he had shared a cell with Polat and that the journalist had suffered injuries and received medical treatment but was last seen in stable condition. Meister called for Polat’s “immediate and unconditional” release and demanded that doctors, lawyers and family members be granted access to him.
The journalists’ detention came during a particularly sensitive period in Syria following the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in December 2024 and amid efforts by the country’s new leadership to reestablish control. Raqqa, long a symbol of the fight against Islamic State and later a center of Kurdish administration, became a battleground in January between government forces and the SDF. A ceasefire was eventually reached and an agreement announced to integrate Kurdish forces into state institutions, but the case of Michelmann and Polat underscores the continuing risks faced by journalists operating in the region.