Syrian Activists, Including Key Lawyer, Kidnapped by Suspected Islamists Near Damascus

Lawyer Had Criticized Islamist Factions in Recent Days

Four prominent Syrian human rights activists were kidnapped today in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma, when gunmen marched into their headquarters and captured them at gunpoint.

Among those kidnapped was high-profile human rights lawyer Razan Zaytouni, who is a member of the rebel Local Coordination Committees (LCC). Zaytouni has been an outspoken critic of the Assad government from the beginning of the civil war.

Jabhat al-Nusra and other Islamist rebel factions are active in Douma, and the LCC said they believe Zaytouni, an avowed secularist, was taken by one of the Islamist groups that she has recently criticized. The Islamist Front, one of the Islamist umbrella groups, promised to investigate and see whether any of its affiliates were involved.

The other three kidnapped activists included Zaytouni’s husband, Wael Hamada, along with Samira Khalil and Nazem al-Hamadi.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.