Disappearance Details

Personal Details

A lawyer employed by Amnesty International. A prominent human rights lawyer, Khalil Maatouk, disappeared on the morning of October 2, 2012, while driving to work from his home in Sahnaya, a suburb of Damascus. Given his work in human rights, Khalil Maatouk was only seen through accounts from unofficial sources who said he was seen in different branches of the security services, especially the State Security Branch (Branch 285) in Kafr Souseh, Damascus, and one of the Air Force Intelligence branches in the capital as well. It was said that the last time he was seen was in September 2013 inside the infamous Palestine Branch (Branch 235) of Military Intelligence in Damascus. Since then, his family has not received any new information about his whereabouts, and the authorities have not responded to the family's repeated requests for information about Khalil, even denying in February 2013 that he was in their custody following a formal inquiry by a group of his fellow lawyers. His family fears for his health, especially since he suffers from a lung disease that has reached advanced stages.