Syria’s hard-line rebels turned against a human rights activist

The leaders of armed opposition groups had widely supported documenting atrocities committed by President Bashar Assad’s forces, they viewed efforts to chronicle their own war crimes with open hostility.

The number of possible witnesses has diminished in the eight years since. Some are threatened into silence, others have been killed, and even more are subject to routine intimidation. As a result, the abduction has remained one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the Syrian war — until today.

Jaish al-Islam’s leadership has consistently denied the group’s involvement in Zaitouneh’s disappearance and accused the witnesses of providing false testimony.