In August 2013, Ahmed al-Youssef (born in 1997) was on his way home to the al-Duwaileh neighborhood of Damascus when he was kidnapped by members of the National Defense Militia, one of the most prominent arms of the fallen regime in its repression of civilians, led by Fadi Saqr.
From the moment of his abduction, no news of him was heard, and his family received no confirmed information about his fate. However, a later report stated that he was detained by the Military Police on charges of "financing terrorism" and "membership in a terrorist group"—a vague accusation often used to arbitrarily eliminate detainees.
Three months after his arrest, a young man who had been detained with Ahmed in Qaboun emerged and told the family that the boy had been forced to fingerprint confessions extracted under duress, and that his case had been referred to a field court, one of the most secretive and bloody courts in the regime's "justice" system.
The family found Ahmed's photo among the "National Defense Photos," published by Zaman al-Wasl as part of the "Death Vaults" file. This collection of photos documented the presence of detainees in National Defense headquarters, some of whom later appeared on the lists of victims or forcibly disappeared.
More than 11 years after his disappearance, Ahmed's fate remains unknown, and his family is still awaiting crucial information that will end the years of deadly waiting.
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