4 Jun 2025 | Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Syria
“We affirm that we will hold accountable, firmly and without leniency, anyone who is involved in the bloodshed of civilians or harming our people, who overstepped the powers of the state or exploits authority to achieve his own ends,” said Ahmed al-Sharaa in a speech broadcast on national TV and posted online. “No-one will be above the law and anyone whose hands are stained with the blood of Syrians will face justice sooner rather than later.”
With these words, the self-proclaimed new Syrian president wanted to reassure the public about his desire to govern the country as a head of state for all Syrians, not only Sunnis.
Sharaa’s words came on 9 March, following the killing of civilians belonging to the Alawite minority – the branch of Shia Islam which former president Bashar al-Assad belonged to – in Syria’s coastal regions. Thousands of people were killed over days of clashes between security forces and Alawite fighters loyal to the former Assad regime.
In response, the new president announced the creation of a committee to conduct an investigation into the massacre of civilians, including women and children. The committee, which includes several judges, a lawyer and a defected Criminal Security Branch officer, will have to shed light on “violations against civilians” and “bring those responsible to justice”.
Sharaa also announced the creation of a second committee “to preserve civil peace”, which aims to listen to the requests of coastal minority groups and offer them future security and stability.
In another speech, the president addressed the country from a Damascus mosque, with Al-Sharaa reiterating his government’s desire to “preserve national unity and civil peace as much as possible”. “God willing, we will be able to live together in this country,” he said.
The government has not yet provided any official report on the massacre; but as of 17 March, the UK-based organisation Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) counted more than 1,500 civilians killed on Syria’s coastline as a result of the sectarian violence. They are mostly Alawites, but also Christians.
The Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, who is the head of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, responded: “The tragic events unfolding in the Syrian coastal region have claimed the lives of many civilians and public security personnel, leaving numerous others wounded. However, the majority of the victims were not affiliated with any militant factions; rather, they were innocent, unarmed civilians, including women and children.”
In addition to civilians, there were more than 500 combatants killed, including 273 members of security forces and the Ministry of Defence, and 259 Alawite gunmen affiliated with the former Assad regime.
A month later, clashes were reported near Damascus, resulting in the death of 13 people of the Druze minority group. Attackers from the town of Maliha and other predominantly Sunni areas reportedly converged on the majority Druze town of Jaramana after an audio clip circulated online attacking the Prophet Mohammad. The clip was attributed to a Druze leader, who denies that the audio was made by him. Authorities have again said there will be an investigation into the incident.
Violence is ongoing, and internal sectarian clashes show the risks to civilians, particularly those of minority groups. Given the historical oppression of Sunnis under the Assad regime, it would not be surprising if Al-Sharaa’s focus becomes transforming Syria into a centre of Sunni power, which could make the situation worse for minority groups.
This idea is not new. Sunnis in Iraq, for example, have long called for such an entity in the form of a federal region that would enable them to avoid the control of the Shia-led government in Baghdad.
But the new Syrian leader faces a fundamental problem: 25% of Syria’s territory is neither Sunni nor Arab, and is made up of minority groups such as Alawites, Kurds, Druze, Christians, Turkmen, Circassians, and Ismailis, who are unlikely to accept marginalisation. In a report for Syria in Transition, Malik al-Abdeh argued that the potential solution proposed by Al-Sharaa could be “a form of soft federalism – a loosely decentralised arrangement that accommodated minority demands while allowing the Sunni core to assert political and ideological dominance”. This could be the best solution, even if some Al-Sharaa supporters are skeptical or are working against such a “federalism” solution.
Despite the recent violence, the Syrian government appears to have made some progressive moves. An agreement has reportedly been signed with the Druze community leaders of the southern province of As Suwayda, which would reintegrate the province back into state institutions. A similar agreement has reportedly been made between the government and Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria, which states that “the Kurdish community is an authentic community in the Syrian state” – the first time this has been proclaimed in contemporary Syrian history.
However, such agreements have not come without disruption or violations to free expression. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in As Suwayda seven journalists were attacked by local armed factions when covering the signing of the political agreement. Some of these journalists were accused of being affiliated with government forces in Damascus.
This followed at least five journalists being targeted and injured during the violent clashes on Syria’s coastal regions earlier this year. The RSF is calling on Syria’s new government to implement seven priority recommendations to restore press freedom in the wake of Al-Assad’s regime, in which at least 181 journalists were killed since 2011. The new regime has promised to restore a free press, but only the future will tell if this promise will be kept.
Something is certainly moving in Syria: despite the sectarian violence and ongoing troubles, hopes for coexistence between religious and ethnic groups could be higher than expected.
It’s too soon to say whether it will become a country with a centralised system of equal rights for all Syrians. But now that the US administration has announced the end of sanctions on Syria and President Donald Trump has shaken hands with Al-Sharaa, the impossible has become possible. If Syria wants to return to the world order, it will need appropriate actions and reforms, and the leadership will need to do everything possible to reduce sectarian violence and societal instability.
3 Apr 2025 | Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Syria, Turkey
At 2.30pm on 19 December 2024, Ahmed Mohamed, editor-in-chief of the Syrian-Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA), received a dispatch from two of his colleagues. An hour later, they were dead.
“They had just sent me a message saying ‘we’re coming back’,” Mohamed told Index.
Cihan Bilgin and Nazim Daştan, two Kurdish reporters, were reportedly targeted and killed by a Turkish airstrike as they returned from the Tishreen Dam near Aleppo, where they were covering ongoing clashes between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkish-backed network of militias known as the Syrian National Army (SNA).
Indeed, Turkey, which is violently opposed to the Kurdish-led project due to its own domestic repression of the Kurdish cause, continues to target the region and journalists in particular, profiting from the chaos caused by the fall of former Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. According to the Kurdish-run Firat News Agency (ANF), Turkey has killed 14 journalists and wounded seven others in the Iraqi Kurdistan and Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) regions since 2019.
Journalists under attack
Sinem Adali, a journalist for Rojava TV, is preparing to go to the Tishreen dam front. Photo by Angeline Desdevises / Hans Lucas
In ANHA’s editorial offices in Qamishli, the de-facto Syrian Kurdish capital, a memorial showcases the microphones and cameras of journalists who died in the line of duty. Since 2017, six of ANHA’s journalists have been killed in the field: three reportedly in Turkish attacks, and three while covering the Kurds’ famous fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Despite the recent ceasefire agreement between Syria’s new Turkish-linked president Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, Turkish bombardments continue to target the Tishreen Dam, according to local monitor Rojava Information Center.
Leyla Abdi, a reporter for Ronahi TV, was wounded at the dam in January. Three days after her arrival at the dam, she was standing alongside civilians staging a protest on the crucial infrastructure, when she was hit by a bombardment. “That day, a dozen drones flew over us all day long. Turkey systematically strikes civilian convoys,” said Abdi, who is still recovering from her injuries.
Kurdish journalists aren’t only targeted when working on the frontline. Repeated attacks have made the road along the Turkish border dangerous, if not impassable. It was here that, in August 2023, the vehicle of the women’s television channel Jin TV was destroyed. The driver, Necimedîn Sînan, was killed instantly, while journalist Delila Ağît lost an arm. Dijwar Iso, who also works at ANHA, said that press workers are now obliged to switch off their phones during missions to prevent the Turkish armed forces on the other side of the border from being able to track and target them.
These attacks are part of a wider drive to stifle the press from covering Turkey’s occupation of North and East Syria, which has killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of thousands of primarily Kurdish civilians to date. In November 2022, journalist Essam Abdallah was killed and another journalist Mohammad Al Jarada was injured in separate Turkish air raids on the same day.
In 2019, a civilian convoy accompanied by Kurdish journalists and a French television team was bombed by Turkish forces, killing two local journalists and injuring others. Several civilians were also killed in the strike.
Although journalists are protected by international law, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration is stepping up its attacks on journalists beyond its borders. In neighbouring Iraq, a drone strike in August last year killed two Kurdish media workers working for a local TV channel and wounded their colleague. Local sources say the drone was operated by the Turkish armed forces, which the Turkish defence ministry has denied. Human rights organisations and Kurdish media unions have called on the United Nations to investigate attacks on journalists, which they describe as “war crimes”.
Gypsy Guillén Kaiser, director of advocacy and communications at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in New York, drew attention to the recent murder of Cihan Bilgin and Nazim Daştan, calling on the Turkish authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.
Psychological warfare
In ANHA’s offices, a memorial showcase displays the equipment and photos of six journalists who died while doing their job in north-eastern Syria. Photo by Angeline Desdevises / Hans Lucas
These constant attacks have created a climate of insecurity for all journalists in the region. Local journalist Loristan Derwish said: “As a woman, it was already hard to obtain the legitimacy to practise our profession and now we are confronted with attacks from Turkey and online harassment.” At the end of 2024, she was subjected to a wave of online harassment following a TV report she made interviewing female Kurdish fighters. Several Instagram accounts impersonating her were created, displaying fake pornographic photo montages. She believes the culprits are in Turkey.
Online harassment is predominantly aimed at female journalists. Arîn Swed, spokesperson for the Syrian Kurdish Women’s Media Union (YRJ), said the union defends all female media workers against sexist and psychological attacks. “We supported Cîhan when she was threatened over the phone by MIT [Milli İstihbarat Teşkilatı – the Turkish secret service],” she said.
As of today, it is believed that at least five journalists, including Ciwana Cuma, a reporter for Ronahî TV, are being targeted. Cuma has covered the confrontations at the Tishreen Dam on several occasions. In a post on X (which has since been deleted) made by a Turkish account with more than 200,000 followers, the young woman was described as “another example like Cihan Bilgin”, “a terrorist”, and therefore identified as a potential future target.
The dehumanisation of journalists continues after their death. According to multiple sources, a photo of the decapitated body of reporter Vedat Erdemci, who was killed in a Turkish airstrike in 2019 in the Syrian city of Ras al-Ain, was sent to his mother. The Turkish state also refused to allow Cihan Bilgin and Nazim Daştan’s bodies to be handed over to their families in Turkey. They were finally buried in Qamishlo in January.
The West’s failure to respond to these crimes also creates negative psychological outcomes, local press workers say. “The death of a Kurdish journalist doesn’t cause a stir. The West creates a hierarchy among lives,” said Berîtan Ali, the regional head of a Kurdish TV station. Dilyar Cizîrî, co-chair of Free Press Union (YRA) organising in north-east Syria echoed her words: “Turkey’s attacks benefit from a sense of impunity, [caused] by the silence of international institutions.”
Destroying material resources
Beyond psychological attacks and online harassment, one of Turkey’s objectives is to shut down all means of expression for journalists in north and east Syria. Their social media accounts are frequently closed down by the platforms and their websites hacked. The ANHA website is the victim of roughly 7,000 cyber attacks per day, according to editor Mohamed. In 2019, hackers succeeded in replacing the homepage with a Turkish nationalist message, he said. Radio frequencies are also hijacked, the editor added, and overlaid with Turkish nationalist propaganda.
The media also face difficulties in obtaining the equipment they need to do their job, due to an embargo imposed on the region. “It is impossible to transport professional equipment legally across the Iraqi border. We have to find other ways,” said Mohamed. The workers are therefore forced to smuggle in protective equipment, such as bulletproof vests and helmets. ANHA only owns five vests for a team of 61 journalists, he said.
Fleeing domestic repression
The bodies of the two Kurdish journalists Cihan Bilgin and Nazim Daştan are buried in Qamishli. Photo by Angeline Desdevises / Hans Lucas
In Turkey, attacks on opposition journalists have forced many into exile. Threatened with imprisonment for covering a demonstration near the Syrian border, Turkish-Kurdish journalist Dilan Dilok had to flee Turkey for Syria in 2017. “If I return to Turkey, I will either be arrested or killed,” she said. She adds that Turkish police are trying to intimidate her again: “My parents are often raided in the middle of the night and subjected to long interrogations.”
Bazid Erven, a reporter for Kurdish news agency Ajansa Welat, and 10 other journalists were allegedly arrested on 20 December 2024 in Van, Turkey, for protesting against the assassination of their colleagues. “These arrests are nothing new, they are routine for us,” Erven said. The day after his own arrest, seven other journalists were detained in Istanbul for several weeks. “There is state and police repression against Kurdish journalists,” he added. It therefore comes as no surprise that Turkey is ranked 158 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ worldwide press freedom ranking.
A future for the Syrian press
A Jin TV journalist reports on the funeral of two Kurdish political figures killed by a Turkish drone strike in Iraq. Photo by Angeline Desdevises / Hans Lucas
Since the fall of Assad’s regime, the ANHA agency has opened several offices across Syria. Its journalists, who previously worked underground in other regions of the country, can now operate openly. However, there is still concern for Syrian news professionals in view of the rampant insecurity in the country, a reality brought home by recent massacres committed by forces of the new government, targeting the Alawite minority.
On 6 February, interim prime minister Mohammed al-Bashir ordered the dissolution of the Syrian Journalists‘ Union (SJU). The Free Press Union (YRA)’s Cizîrî strongly condemned this decision: “The SJU was controlled by the former regime, but the solution should have been to restructure it.” The International Federation of Journalists also sent a letter to Al-Bashir and Syrian president Al-Sharaa, condemning the dissolution of the union and calling on them to uphold international law.
North and East Syria’s YRA says it is ready to help establish a new nationwide independent union and has just set up a Security Advisory and Risk Management Unit in order to provide “support and assistance to all Syrian journalists and media workers”. It seeks to pressure armed groups so that they abide by international law and wants to “contribute to efforts toward accountability and justice”.
In Qamishlo, the latter are yet to be found. Women’s Media Union (YRJ) president Swed is moved when she talks about her colleagues who have been killed in the field. But above all, she is determined to fight for their legacy: “As soon as [Cihan’s death] was announced, the women of the union took over. Today, if ANHA’s media coverage of Tishreen continues, it is thanks to the other women journalists.”
8 Jan 2025 | Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Syria
For more than five decades, Syria has lived under a repressive regime that has made freedom of expression a distant dream. Under Bashar al-Assad, expression was curtailed by repressive laws and strict censorship, while the security services were used as a tool to silence dissenting voices. With the Syrian revolution in 2011, a new age of free expression seemed to be emerging, but it quickly collided with security, political, and social challenges. Now that the Assad regime has been overthrown, what does this mean for the future of free expression in the country?
Freedom of expression under Assad
There were many forces at play within Assad’s regime that were used to silence those critical of the government and stop dissent.
The first were repressive laws. Throughout the decades of the Assad family’s rule, laws were designed to serve the security services and ensure the political domination of society.
The emergency law, which remained in place from 1963 to 2011, gave the security services unlimited powers to prosecute dissidents and protesters and restrict freedoms. Assad lifted the law following Syria’s Arab Spring protests, though opposition politicians called this move “useless” without reform of the legal system and accountability for security services. The 2001 Publications Law, which tightly censored the press, banned the emergence of any independent media voices. This was later repealed and replaced with a Media Law in 2011, but this still placed restrictions on journalists, including that freedom of expression should be “exercised responsibly and with consideration”. More recently, the cybercrime law in 2022 was used to silence dissenting voices online, and has made public criticism of the regime a crime punishable by imprisonment.
In this context, writer, dissident and former political detainee Fayez Sarah told Index: “The policies of the Assad regime pushed me and many activists to confront [them], as muzzling voices and preventing political and civil activities motivated me to engage in political and social work.” Sarah said he had been arrested several times simply for participating in opposition political activities.
The second tool used was that of the “official” media, which became the regime’s only voice. The official media was focused on perpetuating the public image of Assad’s regime, and presenting his version of events without space for other opinions. All mass media TV channels and newspapers were under direct control of the state, which ensured the promotion of the regime’s ideology and the obscuration of truth.
Journalist and writer Ali Safar recalled that while working for a state media organisation, creativity was rejected, and security reports suppressed any attempt to deviate from the official line.
The third oppressive weapon was direct repression against activists and journalists. Syria is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, having witnessed unprecedented levels of violence towards media workers over the past few years. According to Reporters Without Borders, Syria has lagged behind in the Global Press Freedom Index, consistently ranking amongst the 10 worst countries since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011.
Under the Assad regime, journalists were subjected to arbitrary arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances. In areas of armed opposition, despite there being space for independent media, journalists have also been threatened and kidnapped by some factions who saw media coverage as a threat to their interests.
As journalist Sakhr Idris told Index: “Even in liberated areas, journalists faced challenges such as the intervention of military factions and pressure from funders or local communities.”
At least 300 journalists were killed whilst covering the civil war, whilst others lived in exile or under constant threat. Thousands of people have been threatened, arrested and forcibly disappeared. Muhannad Omar has been forcibly disappeared since 2012. His fate is currently unknown but there are fears that he was tortured and killed in detention in prison.
The Impact of the Syrian revolution on freedom of expression
With the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, social media platforms began to play a crucial role in breaking the regime’s monopoly on the media.
Activists have used platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to convey the truth to the world, and expose the regime’s abuses.
Citizen media began to emerge as an alternative to official media, with on-the-ground journalists relying on simple technology to circulate coverage of demonstrations and violations.
But despite a promising start, freedom of expression has faced numerous challenges as the conflict morphed into an all-out war. The regime’s repression continued in new forms, including through digital smear campaigns and intensive surveillance.
In areas outside of the regime’s control, armed factions also began to impose their own visions, limiting press freedom.
The takeover of the Syrian State Television building
After the fall of the Syrian regime on 8 December, concerns emerged about the future of the official media as new forces started to dominate the media landscape. One such case was the takeover of the Syrian State Television building in Damascus, raising widespread concern that the official media could turn from a tool to serve the regime into a platform that promotes the vision of dominant rebel groups.
For example, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group which led the deposition of Assad, is known for its directed political and religious rhetoric, and may use state television to spread its ideology and strengthen its influence over public opinion in Syria.
The move also raises questions about the fate of free and pluralistic media in a post-Assad Syria, especially with the country’s record of restricting press freedom, suppressing independent journalists, and directing the media to serve its political and religious goals.
There is also a risk that media domination will be used to expand repression, leaving Syria stuck in the cycle of media tyranny under different names and parties.
These concerns highlight the greater challenge of ensuring the independence of the official media in this transitional period and putting in place laws to protect it from political or ideological influences that may divert it from its true role as a platform for all Syrians.
Future challenges to freedom of expression after Assad
One major obstacle is the absence of an existing legal and constitutional framework to protect free expression.
Ali Safar, a Syrian writer and executive producer of Radio Sout Raya, a Syrian radio station based in Istanbul, believes that “the only guarantee of freedom of expression is a sophisticated and dynamic media law that revitalises public space”.
Another challenge is existing societal conflict; the war has left deep sectarian divisions that have affected public debate and discourse.
According to Sheikh Riad Drar al-Hamood, a Syrian opposition political activist, writer and human rights activist, the traditional religious community has not helped to build an environment that respects pluralism, but rather has supported authoritarianism under the umbrella of traditional law.
However, he says the role of religious groups will be significant in future, and forward-thinking individuals within them can “form an incubator for the new society”. “The enlightened voices among the clergy can be leaders of social liberation, but unfortunately they are few,” he said. For instance, Sheikh Muhammad Rateb al-Nabulsi and the late Sheikh Jawdat Saeed were supporters of moderate thought in Syria, and called for change by peaceful means. Their influence combined to promote the values of dialogue and tolerance, which made them distinguished voices in the face of tyranny and extremism.
International actors will also have a key role to play in establishing a pluralistic media. Supporting Syria’s democratic transition depends heavily on international support, which is conditional on political reforms. A transition is needed that draws on the experiences of other countries to avoid media and political chaos.
The role of civil society organisations and activists within Syria will also be crucial. Civil society is a key hope for building a free space. According to Fayez Sarah, political and civil activism has contributed to changing the relationship between Syrians and the regime, as they have become more emboldened in expressing their opinions.
But challenges remain significant, including security threats and the stress of living under threat of prosecution.
Comparing Syria with other global experiences
The state of free expression in Syria can be compared to the experiences of other countries such as Iran and Chechnya, where societies have faced similar pressures around the suppression of dissenting voices and the use of religious or national authority to tighten control.
Even before Iran’s 1979 revolution, freedom of expression was limited under the regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, where the press and civil society were censored, and the SAVAK (the Bureau for Intelligence and Security of the State) was used to muzzle voices. While Iranians dreamed of the right to free expression after the revolution, repression has shifted in character from political to ideological.
The new Islamic regime imposed tight control on the media, as obedience to Wali al-Faqih – a doctrine that means the transfer of political and religious authority over to the Shia clergy – became a criterion for the legitimacy of media and intellectual discourse.
Although dissenting voices have emerged from within the religious establishment – such as Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri – they have been marginalised and suppressed, which is consistent with Sheikh al-Hamood’s assertion that enlightened voices in religious communities often have little impact.
Similarly to Syria, in Iran religion or nationality has been used officially to justify restricting freedoms and turning the media into a tool for official propaganda.
In Chechnya, freedom of expression has been heavily affected by armed conflicts and wars between the Russian government and separatist movements.
During the First (1994-1996) and Second (1999-2009) Chechen Wars, independent journalism was virtually wiped out. Russian authorities and local groups have used the media as a propaganda weapon against the opposition, reminiscent of the Syrian regime’s control over the media during and after the revolution.
In the post-conflict era, freedom of expression remained limited under the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov. Independent journalists were imprisoned and political activity was suppressed. As in Syria, armed conflicts have weakened the free media and have led to the authorities’ exploitation of nationalism and religion to justify repression.
In Iran, Chechnya and Syria, freedom of expression has been affected by volatile political phases and armed conflicts. Free expression was the first casualty of repressive regimes that used religion or nationalism as a pretext for control.
Global experiences continue to offer useful lessons for Syria in the future, as they can be leveraged to build a free media system that respects pluralism and promotes national reconciliation.
Looking to the future
The journey of freedom of expression in Syria is a reflection of the stages that the country has gone through politically and socially, from systematic repression under Assad, to limited openness during the revolution, to successive setbacks as the conflict escalated. There are many challenges to building an environment that incubates free expression post-Assad, from the need for a constitution that protects the right to confront sectarian discourse, to rebuilding trust between the media and society. But despite this, there is still hope that Syria could become a model for free expression within the region.
This article was translated and edited from Arabic by Hussein Maamo.
13 Dec 2024 | News and features, Newsletters, Syria
Hello, readers. This week, the world watched in shock as Bashar al-Assad’s government was toppled by Syrian rebels, bringing the dictator’s 24-year-reign to a close and suddenly ending the country’s brutal 13-year civil war. He and his family have since fled, and allegedly claimed asylum in Russia.
One of the defining legacies of Assad’s ruthless regime were his inhumane prisons, where many political activists, journalists and protesters have been held. According to the UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, nearly 60,000 people were tortured and killed in these jails. As news broke of the collapse of Assad’s government on 8 December, videos emerged of the Syrian rebel forces, led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), freeing people from the notorious Saydnaya prison, which had frequently been referred to as a “human slaughterhouse”. Many more people are thought to still be trapped in hidden underground cells.
Assad’s regime has been one of the most repressive for free speech in the world today. It became more violent and restrictive following the 2011 Arab Spring, when Syrians took to the streets to peacefully protest the government. A major crackdown on freedom of assembly followed, with political activists being detained and tortured, and civilians being targeted with artillery and internationally banned substances such as chemical weapons.
Journalists were imprisoned, tortured, killed and forcibly disappeared. Reporters Without Borders reports that 283 journalists have been killed in Syria since 2011, with 181 of these at the hands of Assad and his allies. On the day his regime fell, 23 journalists were reported to be in prison and another 10 missing. The human rights organisation ranked Syria a woeful 179 out of 180 countries in its latest World Press Freedom Index.
During his reign, Assad had increasingly introduced laws that curbed free speech. Following the uprising, a media law in 2011 had the guise of protecting independent journalism but in reality further restricted journalists’ reporting, legislating that free expression should be “practised with responsibility and awareness”, and prohibiting journalists from reporting on certain topics such as national security, the activities of the army and religious issues. A broad sweeping counter-terrorism law then came in in 2012, which further allowed the state to criminalise peaceful acts of dissent, and a cybercrime law in 2022 imposed six-month jail sentences for Syrian citizens who spread disinformation or “false news” undermining the state’s reputation.
One of the country’s most prominent political activists is Mazen Darwish. A journalist and lawyer, he founded the NGO Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Speech in Damascus in 2004, and was himself charged under the counter-terrorism act. He, alongside other members of his organisation, was arrested during an intelligence service raid in 2012, and he was subsequently imprisoned until 2015. In an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit, he recalled the torture methods used in prison: electric shocks, suspending detainees by their hands, beatings and sleep deprivation. Following the fall of the regime this week, he tweeted: “For the first time in 50 years, I feel like a citizen.”
Assad’s ruthless reign is over, but the restoration of free speech and broader human rights will not be plain sailing from here. The rebel groups that have overthrown Assad have also been accused of human rights abuses. Of the 283 journalists killed in Syria since 2011, HTS is thought to have killed six journalists, whilst the group’s leader Abu Mohammed al-Joulani is allegedly responsible for the abduction of eight journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders. This is not to mention deaths of media workers at the hands of radical groups like the Islamic State, which reportedly assassinated 22 journalists in Syria between 2013 and 2017. Meanwhile, Kurdish reporters have been killed in airstrikes, which Kurdish media have attributed to the Turkish military.
Concerns also remain for the treatment of minorities such as Kurds, Assyrians and Alawites in the country following Assad’s demise. Whilst the rebels who overthrew Assad have promised tolerance and say they want to build a unified, inclusive Syria, a non-secular government or the emergence of militant factions could see further persecution of ethnic and religious minority groups, as happened in Iraq following the deposition of Saddam Hussein.
For the majority of Syrians, this week is a huge cause of celebration as political prisoners are freed and many of those who were exiled are able to return safely home. Hopefully, the violent repression of free speech in Syria will be over. But questions remain over whether the future leaders of Syria will restore human rights for all, and only time will tell.
