Majd Kamalmaz (January 6, 1958 – after February 2017) was a Syrian-American[1] psychotherapist from Arlington, Virginia, who was detained in Syria in February 2017 and held until his death was announced on May 18, 2024.
Kamalmaz was running a nonprofit in Lebanon helping refugees deal with trauma when he drove to Syria in mid-February 2017 to visit a relative who had cancer. Once in Damascus, he called his wife to tell her that he had arrived safely. After that, the family never heard from him again.[2]
Kamalmaz's family is a part of the Bring Our Families Home campaign, which advocates for bringing home wrongful detainees and hostages. Kamalmaz's image is featured in a 15-foot mural in Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) along with other Americans wrongfully detained abroad.[5]
On May 18, 2024, The New York Times reported that national security officials told his family that highly credible, classified information indicated that he had died in captivity.[2]
Miller & Chevalier and SETF Announced Civil Lawsuit Against Assad Regime seeking at least $70 million in punitive and compensatory damages for the unlawful detention, torture, and killing of Majd Kamalmaz.[8][9]
