Abounaddara's 'The Debt' Chronicles Syrian Activist's Disappearance

The Syrian filmmaking collective Abounaddara has released 'The Debt,' a video work documenting the case of Anas al-Shoghary, a peaceful activist who disappeared after his arrest on May 14, 2011, in al-Marah, Tartous governorate. The 24-year-old economics student at Teshreen University in Latakia had been organizing protests in Baniyas and giving interviews to international media. His brother Ibrahim reported that the family received no information from the government. Former detainees said Anas was held at Military Intelligence Branch in Tartous, then at the Palestine Branch in Damascus, and was seen in Sednaya in 2012. On August 4, 2012, his 19-year-old brother Salah was detained by Political Security in Baniyas, likely to pressure Anas. Salah's health was described as disturbingly poor by a former detainee who saw him at the Palestine Branch. The mother's health has deteriorated, with Ibrahim stating she is in intensive care. The work is linked to documenta 14 and the Syrian Memory archive.