Tens of thousands are anticipated to gather in Damascus later today to mourn prominent activist Mazen al-Hamada.
Al-Hamada became a symbol of resistance against Bashar al-Assad’s regime, highlighting its oppressive practices and human rights abuses.
After fleeing Syria’s civil war in 2014, he travelled internationally, recounting the torture he endured in Syrian prisons.
In 2020, al-Hamada returned to Syria following the regime’s announcement of a general amnesty, but he was arrested upon his arrival at Damascus airport.
For years, his whereabouts remained unknown until Monday, when his body, wrapped in bloodied sheets, was identified in the morgue of Harasta Military Hospital near Damascus.
Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, who worked closely with al-Hamada, stated that the condition of his body indicated he had been killed shortly before being discovered.
