Riad al-Turk

Riad al-Turk was a Syrian opposition leader, a political prisoner for about 20 years, and supporter of democracy, who was called "the Old Man of Syrian opposition." He was secretary general of the Syrian Communist Party (Political Bureau) from its foundation in 1973 until 2005. He joined the Syrian Communist Party while a student and became a leading party ideologue. He was imprisoned four times, tortured repeatedly and spent nearly 18 years in solitary confinement, mostly in an underground cell with no windows. He opposed the dictatorship of Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar al-Assad, and advocated for a peaceful and democratic transition in Syria. He was involved in various opposition movements and initiatives, such as the Damascus Declaration and the National Coordination Committee. He was forced to flee to France in 2018, where he continued to speak out against the Syrian regime until his death. He was widely respected and admired by many Syrians and human rights activists for his courage, integrity and perseverance.