Video: Search for missing Syrians

Taher al-Zain came to this hospital in the Syrian capital looking for his father, Mohamed. The lawyer and father of five disappeared twelve years ago and is one of tens of thousands of Syrians who went missing during the country’s civil war. Thousands of political prisoners have been released across Syria since President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime was overthrown on December 8. Ahmed Abu Seif was one of them. As the bodies of those who died in prison are recovered, they are taken to hospitals across the country. Taher inspects photos of the deceased on the wall, looking for any sign of his father. Among the crowd are supporters of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the rebel group that now controls much of the country. Taher’s final stop is the infamous Sednaya Prison on the outskirts of Damascus. It is believed that thousands of people have been executed and tortured here over the years. Taher and others come every day looking for evidence of their missing loved ones in the scraps of prison documents left behind by the former government. As Syria enters a new and uncertain phase, the families of the disappeared feel trapped in the past. Without answers, they continue to search for their loved ones and closure.