Hope of closure for Syrians with missing relatives

For the hundreds of families who lost loved ones in amongst Syria’s torture chambers, the truth behind their tragic deaths is now being discovered.

Thanks to new efforts to identify bodies from tens of thousands of photos smuggled out of Damascus seven years ago.

For their families, closure doesn’t always bring comfort though.

The teenage brother of Syrian artist and teacher Fida Al Waer, was taken at a checkpoint in 2012 and finding his photo ended hope of seeing him alive.

"We mourned him again when the photo was found. We always had hope he would be released. I would see him in my dreams alive and that he would return and see him again after that. On the picture, it seems that he had been dead for a while, I don't know, that's what the photo looks like."

More than fifty-three thousand photos were lifted on discs and thumb drives, all by a former Syrian army photographer, codenamed 'Caesar', who fled in August 2013.

His job was to keep records of the deaths in military prisons, but is now hiding in an undisclosed country for his own safety. Reuters could not immediately reach him for comment.

It’s been 5 years since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last commented directly on the Caesar photographs when he dismissed them as allegations, but now they’re back in the spotlight.

In June the U.S. brought in tough sanctions bearing Caesar's name giving them the ability to charge anyone alleged to have committed war crimes against the civilian population.

He and his allies argue that the war has largely been won, and it is now time for the world to allow Syria to rebuild.

The U.S. laws apply to any countries doing business with Damascus, making that extremely difficult.

Especially with campaigners using the renewed attention launching a new push to identify the dead, which estimates put at 6,785.