On 29 April, human rights groups worldwide are marking the birthday of Syrian human rights defender Razan Zaitouneh, who will be spending it in captivity for the third time along with her three colleagues, her husband Wael Hamada, Samira Khalil and Nazem Hamadi. Join the call to help free the four human rights defenders, who were abducted in December 2013, and send messages of solidarity.
On 9 December 2013, the four human rights defenders – collectively known as the “Duma Four” – were abducted by a group of armed men who raided the offices of the Violations Documentation Centre (VDC) in Duma, near Damascus. There has been no news of their whereabouts in the past two and a half years but they are presumed to be held by armed groups in control of the area. The family is concerned for Zaitouneh’s health and well-being given the absence of any information.