Mazen Al-Hamada is an activist who organized and participated in pro-democracy rallies from the earliest days of the Syrian revolution. In 2012, government security forces arrested Mazen for trying to smuggle baby formula into a besieged suburb of Damascus. He was detained twice and brutally tortured for nearly two years in Syria’s most notorious torture facilities, featured in the “Caesar” photos, for his work as an outspoken critic of the regime.

Upon being released, Mazen returned briefly to his hometown of Dier Ezzor but fled Syria once he became a target for ISIS. After arriving in the Netherlands in 2014, Mazen worked tirelessly to bring attention to the horrors of the Syrian prison system.

Mazen organized and participated in demonstrations outside of Syria to show the world the realities of the Assad regime. Mazen was determined to hold the Syrian government accountable for what it had done to him and those he saw die in prison.

“I will not rest until I take them to court,” he said, tears streaming down his face. “Even if it costs me my life, I will pursue them and bring them to justice, no matter what.”

Tired of trying to persuade the world to turn against Assad, Mazen returned to Damascus to find ways of bringing a political solution to the war. The tears shed by his audiences did not translate into tangible efforts to bring justice to the victims.

Upon returning to Syria on February 22, 2020, Mazen was arrested at Damascus International Airport and has been forcefully disappeared ever since.