Maher Tahan is a Syrian political activist and human right defender. He has been forcibly disappeared since 20 September 2012 after being arrested by Air Force Intelligence at a checkpoint in Damascus alongside Abd al Aziz al-Khayyir and Iyad Ayash, upon returning from a visit to China on behalf of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change. He was reportedly taken to a detention facility in Mezzé, Damascus, before being transferred to an unknown location, and the Syrian authorities continue to deny holding him, instead claiming he was ‘kidnapped by members of a terrorist group’ while the risk that he is subjected to torture or other serious human rights violations remains high.