Razan Zaitouneh: The Activist Assad Couldn't Catch — Taken by His Enemies Instead

Razan Zaitouneh had been a practicing lawyer and human rights activist in Syria since the early 2000s, working with political prisoners before the uprising. When the revolution began in 2011, she co-founded the Violations Documentation Center (VDC), which became the most comprehensive database of casualties and human rights violations in the Syrian conflict — recording deaths, disappearances, and detentions. She received the Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. She worked underground in Damascus while the regime searched for her. In late 2013, fearing regime capture, she moved to Douma — then under Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) rebel control. On December 9, 2013, a group of armed men from Jaish al-Islam broke into her office and abducted her, her husband Wael Hamada, fellow activist Samira al-Khalil (wife of dissident Yassin al-Haj Saleh), and lawyer Nazem Hammadi. The case became known as the 'Douma Four.' Jaish al-Islam and its leader Zahran Alloush denied involvement — a denial universally disbelieved. Zahran Alloush was killed in a Russian airstrike in 2015. His successor released no information about the four. Douma was retaken by Assad in 2018. No bodies were found. The Douma Four are presumed dead but unconfirmed. Razan Zaitouneh has not been seen since December 9, 2013.