Syria's 'Wanted List' Includes 1.5 Million People

A civil-defense member reacts after what activists say were three consecutive air strikes by the Russian air force in Idlib province, Syria, on January 12, 2016. (Reuters / Khalil Ashawi)
A civil-defense member reacts after what activists say were three consecutive air strikes by the Russian air force in Idlib province, Syria, on January 12, 2016. (Reuters / Khalil Ashawi)
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Syria's 'Wanted List' Includes 1.5 Million People

A civil-defense member reacts after what activists say were three consecutive air strikes by the Russian air force in Idlib province, Syria, on January 12, 2016. (Reuters / Khalil Ashawi)
A civil-defense member reacts after what activists say were three consecutive air strikes by the Russian air force in Idlib province, Syria, on January 12, 2016. (Reuters / Khalil Ashawi)

Desperate to find out if they can ever return home, Syrians exiled by their country's uprising-turned-war are scouring a leaked database of people reportedly wanted by the intelligence services, Agence France Presse reported.

Typing in first, last and father's names into the online list, Syrians abroad hold their breath to learn if a long-awaited visit to Damascus would land them in regime prison or potentially far worse.

Hundreds of thousands have been arrested by Syria's feared security apparatus since the conflict erupted in 2011, many for opposing the regime.

Others have fled the country, fearing detention, torture, or worse.

Last month, the pro-opposition Zaman Al-Wasl news website released a searchable database of 1.5 million reportedly wanted people, including which security branch seeks their arrest, questioning or travel ban.

"Wanted By: General Intelligence Directorate. Action: Arrest," reads the result for Amr al-Azm, history professor at Shawnee State University in the United States.

"I would not have assumed otherwise," sighed Azm, 54, who last visited his native Syria a year before protests against Bashar al-Assad began.

Since then, Azm has spoken out actively against Assad, so was unfazed to see his name on the list.

"On the one hand, you feel proud you've done enough to attract the attention of the authorities," he said.

"But at the same time, it makes me very sad -- because if it's true, it means I'll never see Syria again."

Zaman al-Wasl says the list was part of a trove of 1.7 million regime documents leaked by Damascus-based sources in 2015.

It says the database has been searched more than 10 million times. Their site also shows frustrated reactions from people who learned they were wanted. 

When a first installment of 500,000 names was released in early March, exiled Syrian opposition figures began sending each other the link.

Many already knew they were persona non grata in their homeland, but wanted details: which of Syria's feared security branches held outstanding warrants for them? Would they face a simple interrogation or full-blown arrest?

"It's like a terminal disease. You know you have it, but the lab tests come through and you get the confirmation," Azm said.

The list does not include the specific crime in question, and doubts remain about whether it is comprehensive or up-to-date. 

Still, when Zeina learned of the database, her heart began racing. 

She left Syria in 2012 after two stints in regime jails for demonstrating, and wondered if she'd face a third arrest.

"I never considered not searching, because I'd rather know," said Zeina, using a pseudonym.

As each third of the database was released, she punched in her real name, but it generated no criminal record.

"I want it to be true for selfish reasons, because I'm not on it and I want to go back," Zeina said.

She aches for personal letters, books and ancestors' belongings she would inherit, still thousands of kilometers away.

To double-check, Zeina asked contacts in Damascus to run her name against their lists, which could be more recent and detailed. Still, nothing. 

"I don't have an answer, and that's why I haven't taken action yet," she said.

"Is it worse to go back and risk being taken? Or never go, and then it ends up that they never wanted me in the first place?"

Even people living outside regime control in Syria have used Zaman al-Wasl's database. 

Dilbrin Mohammad, 37, lives in Kurdish-held Qamishli and fears arrest by the regime for protesting in 2011.

He has searched lists like Zaman al-Wasl's and paid bribes to regime officials to search their records, which can cost as much as $200. To be safe, he avoids regime checkpoints.

"You feel like the regime-controlled parts are a different country that you need a visa for," said the computer technician. 

"It's like they're North Korea and we're the South."

It's been more than two years since Mohammad Kheder resettled in Germany with his wife and three children, but he insists it's a temporary stay.

"I don't want to get acclimatized, because we're going back to Syria," said Kheder, 32, who hails from Albu Kamal in the east.

He'll never forget the euphoria of his hometown's first anti-Assad protests nor would he regret participating, even if it landed him on the regime's wanted list. 

"I didn't open the Zaman al-Wasl database because I already knew, but all my friends sent me screenshots of my name," Kheder said.

It prompted him to search the names of his brothers, friends, and nostalgically, activists he knew were killed in the seven-year war.

"Seeing my name was a badge of honor. It only made me more determined to go back, but not while Assad is in power," he said.

"I'm wanted by Assad? Well, he's wanted by me."



Europeans Sidelined in US-Iran Nuclear Talks despite Holding Key Card

A general view of Muscat, ahead of the awaited negotiations between US and Iran, in Oman, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)
A general view of Muscat, ahead of the awaited negotiations between US and Iran, in Oman, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)
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Europeans Sidelined in US-Iran Nuclear Talks despite Holding Key Card

A general view of Muscat, ahead of the awaited negotiations between US and Iran, in Oman, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)
A general view of Muscat, ahead of the awaited negotiations between US and Iran, in Oman, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)

Washington's decision not to coordinate with European nations about its negotiations with Iran on Saturday will reduce its leverage and make US and Israeli military action against Tehran ultimately more likely, analysts and diplomats said.

The United States did not tell European countries about the nuclear talks in Oman before President Donald Trump announced them on Tuesday, even though they hold a key card on the possible reimposition of UN sanctions on Tehran, three European diplomats said.

"The United States is going to need a coordinated diplomatic strategy with its European allies going into these negotiations with Iran," said Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

That coordination is "crucial to making sure that there is maximum pressure and any diplomatic option has a chance of success," Misztal said.

Trump, who restored a "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran in February, on Wednesday repeated threats to use military force against Iran if it didn't halt its nuclear program and said Israel would be "the leader of that."

The West suspects Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, which it denies. The threat of renewed sanctions is intended to pressure Tehran into concessions, but detailed discussions on strategy have yet to take place with the Americans, the diplomats said.

Because the United States quit a 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, it cannot initiate its mechanism for reimposing sanctions, called snapback, at the United Nations Security Council.

That makes Britain, Germany and France, known as the E3, the only deal participants capable of and interested in pursuing snapback, so it is crucial that Washington align with these allies, analysts said. Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, has already lobbied the E3 to initiate it.

According to the three diplomats, the E3 told Iran they would trigger the snapback mechanism by the end of June. Iran responded that doing so would mean harsh consequences and a review of its nuclear doctrine, the diplomats said.

"The E3 do not trust the United States because it is taking initiatives without them being consulted," said a senior European diplomat.

Trump withdrew the US in 2018 from the nuclear deal with Iran also signed by Russia and China. The accord curbed Iran's nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief. Russia opposes restoring sanctions.

Under the nuclear accord, participants can initiate the 30-day snapback process if they are unable to resolve accusations of Iranian violations through a dispute-resolution mechanism.

But that opportunity expires on October 18 when the accord ends.

Since the US exited the deal in 2018, Iran has far surpassed its uranium enrichment limits, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Tehran is producing stocks of fissile purity well above what Western powers say is justifiable for a civilian energy program and close to weapons grade.

GOING IT ALONE

The US administration's approach echoes Trump's first term in office, when he also prioritized unilateral talks with Iran, and with his stance on the war in Ukraine, where Washington has begun direct talks with Moscow, sidelining Europeans.

European officials have held some meetings with US counterparts but said they were not sufficiently in-depth.

Even a meeting on Iran with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting a week before Trump's announcement was difficult to arrange, three E3 officials said.

The British, French and German foreign ministries did not respond directly when asked if they had been made aware of the Oman talks ahead of time.

"We remain committed to taking every diplomatic step to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, including through snapback if necessary," a British foreign ministry spokesperson said.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said tersely on Wednesday that the French "take note with interest" the talks.

Neither the White House National Security Council nor the State Department immediately responded to a request for comment on the snapback or coordination with Europeans.

EUROPEAN-IRAN DIRECT TALKS

Having negotiated with Iran as a trio as far back as 2003 on the nuclear issue, the European countries consider their role essential to a solution. In the 2015 deal, a key carrot for Iran was being able to trade with Europe.

The Europeans have helped the United States pressure Iran in recent months, including at the UN atomic watchdog and with new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program, detention of foreign citizens and support for Russia in the war against Ukraine.

During the US policy vacuum after Trump won the election but before he took office, the Europeans tried to take the initiative by holding exploratory talks with Iran that began in September and have continued.

The E3 said that was necessary because time was running out before the 2015 deal expires on October 18. They have tried to sound out whether new restrictions, albeit narrower than those agreed in 2015, could be negotiated before then.

Diplomats said that in those talks, Iranian officials have often quizzed their counterparts on the new US administration.

"Iran believes that talks with the E3 and other parties to the nuclear deal can help defuse tensions over its nuclear program and can be complementary to talks with the US," said an Iranian official.