Washington, DC [US], May 19 : Majd Kamalmaz, an American therapist who was detained in Syria over seven years ago, has passed away, CNN reported, citing a statement from the Bring Our Families Home Campaign (BoFH).
Bring Our Families Home (BOFH) is a campaign by family members of American hostages and detainees advocating for their immediate release.
A statement from Jonathan Franks, the spokesperson for BoFH, read, "Tragically, he did not survive the brutal conditions of the prisons, enduring seven long years without a case, trial or any form of communication with his family."
Describing Kamalmaz, Franks continued, "He was a kindhearted, loving and caring person who embodied these qualities as a son, husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle."
Kamalmaz, originally from Texas and a psychotherapist by profession, was detained in 2017 at a checkpoint in Damascus while on a visit to see his family.
The hope for his return flickered in 2020 when CNN reported on the optimism of Kamalmaz's family members after Trump administration officials visited Damascus in an effort to secure the release of American prisoners held by the Syrian government. However, Kamalmaz never made it back home, and the agonising silence persisted since his initial detainment.
Maryam Kamalmaz, speaking on behalf of her father's disappearance during the first-ever Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day earlier this year, expressed their anguish, saying, "We do feel invisible."
Despite calls for attention from President Joe Biden, Kamalmaz's family did not receive the meeting they sought. "For the last seven years, we have been struggling to come to grips with my father's absence," Maryam Kamalmaz stated in the announcement of her father's passing. "The anguish and emotional turmoil that our family has been through has taken a heavy toll on our lives," she said.
She added a hopeful note, saying, "He will be missed tremendously, yet we hope that his legacy of helping others in need lives on and is carried out by many."
While the FBI did not confirm Kamalmaz's death, they reiterated the concerning silence surrounding his disappearance.
"In 2017, Majd Kamalmaz, a trauma psychologist who worked with individuals affected by war and natural disasters, traveled to Syria to visit a family member," a statement from the FBI's Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell read.
"Kamalmaz has not been seen or heard from since his disappearance in Syria in February 2017. No matter how much time has passed, the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell works on behalf of the victims and their families to recover all US hostages and support the families whose loved ones are held captive or missing," it added, CNN reported.
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