A journalist, who had previously been detained in Syria, has returned to Germany. According to reports by Spiegel, citing the Federal Foreign Office, she was recently released from captivity in Syria and arrived back in Germany last Friday. Her exit from Syria was facilitated via a third country, from which she took a flight to Germany.
German diplomatic efforts were concentrated on her release. The German embassy in Damascus, as well as the mission in Beirut, lobbied the Syrian government-specifically Transition President Ahmed al-Sharaa-to secure Michelmann’s release. Furthermore, the central Foreign Office headquarters in Berlin was reportedly involved in “high-level” discussions regarding the matter.
The journalist disappeared on January 18 in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, which was long under the control of the Kurdish-dominated Democratic Forces of Syria (SDF). On that day, Islamists connected to the government and units of the Syrian transitional regime had taken control of the city and other predominantly Arab areas.
