Faten Rajab, of Syrian origin, is a physicist, women’s rights activist and human rights defender from Douma in the Damascus countryside who was arbitrarily arrested on 26 December 2011 by Air Force Intelligence officers in Damascus. At the time, she was preparing her thesis in quantum physics in France but had put her studies on hold to support peaceful demonstrations and document detainees and missing people. After her arrest, Rajab was subjected to prolonged enforced disappearance and was held in solitary confinement for extended periods in varying intelligence and military facilities, including branch 215 in Kafr Sousa, Military Intelligence branches and Adra Central Prison, under harsh and secretive conditions. Her lawyer reported that she was tortured and ill-treated, suffering severe physical and psychological harm and now in poor health. As of now, her fate remains unknown. Her disappearance is among those highlighted in a joint letter sent to the UN Security Council by 15 international and Syrian NGOs urging the release of detainees. The letter specifically names Rajab as a physicist from Damascus campaigning for freedom and dignity whose whereabouts remain unknown.