In this news article, the BBC explores how hundreds of children of Syria’s political detainees were taken from their families during the Assad regime and placed in orphanages, many run by SOS Children’s Villages International. Drawing on thousands of leaked documents and testimony from over 50 whistleblowers, the investigation reveals that children were falsely registered as orphans, had their identities changed, and were often denied contact with relatives. While SOS has acknowledged some failures, evidence suggests its Syria operations complied with regime demands up until 2022, raising serious questions about complicity in human rights violations. Families, including mothers still searching for their missing children, continue to face bureaucratic obstacles and a lack of transparency as new investigations struggle to piece together the fate of Syria’s “stolen children.”