Suheil Hamwi spent 32 years in a Syrian prison, and now, after an offensive by insurgents that toppled the government of Bashar Assad, he's finally returned to his home in Lebanon.

In 1992, Hamwi worked as a merchant, selling various goods in the town of Chekka in northern Lebanon. On the night of Eid il-Burbara, or Saint Barbara's Day — a holiday similar to Halloween — a man came to his door to buy some whiskey. Hamwi said he handed his 10-month-old son, George, to his wife and went to his car to fetch the whiskey and make the sale.