Riad Turk, a prominent Syrian dissident and a staunch critic of the Syrian regime and the Assad family's rule, endured imprisonment totaling approximately 18 years during Hafez al-Assad's tenure and two additional years under the rule of his son, Bashar al-Assad. Turk passed away in exile in Paris at the beginning of 2024.
Early Life, Upbringing, and Education
Born in 1930 in the Syrian city of Homs, Riad Turk, fondly known among his peers as "Ibn al-Am" or "Cousin," lived his childhood in an orphanage run by the Islamic Charitable Society.
Turk pursued legal studies at the Law School of Damascus University, where he graduated with a law degree in 1958. It was during this time that he began his political activities.
Political Journey
Turk's first imprisonment came in 1952, serving five months during the presidency of Adib al-Shishakli, leader of Syria’s third military coup. He was incarcerated again for fifteen months in 1960 during the union between Syria and Egypt.
He left Syria in 1963 following the Ba'ath Party’s ascent to power, only to return about two years later.
In the 1970s, Turk became the General Secretary of the "Syrian Communist Party-Political Bureau," which was banned by the Syrian regime. Shortly after Bashar al-Assad took power, the party was renamed "The Syrian Democratic People's Party."
Turk opposed his party's joining the National Progressive Front in 1972—a coalition aligned with the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party—and split off to establish the "Syrian Communist Party-Political Bureau" the following year. He stepped down from his position in 2005.
During Hafez al-Assad's rule, who assumed the presidency following a Ba'ath-led military coup, Turk was arrested in 1980 and confined to solitary confinement without trial for criticizing the country's security-oriented governance and his membership in the "Communist Party." After 18 years of imprisonment, he was released in 1998, physically weakened and health-deteriorated from the harsh detention conditions.
In 2000, after giving an interview to Al Jazeera following Hafez al-Assad's death, where he referred to the late president as a "dictator," Anisa Makhlouf, Assad's widow, pressured her son Bashar into arresting Turk. He spent two and a half years in jail, causing further decline in his health, before being released at the end of 2002.
While detained that year, he wrote an article titled "So that Syria Is Not a Kingdom of Silence" criticizing the Syrian constitution's Article 83 amendment to fit Bashar al-Assad for presidency.
Upon release, he stated, "I have gone from the small prison to the larger one, and it is upon us all to strive to open its doors. I will not relinquish my right to engage in politics, whatever the circumstances. I welcome prison if it's the price for adhering to my opinion and freedom of expression."
The Damascus Spring
With the new millennium and immediately after the death of Hafez al-Assad, about 100 Syrian intellectuals and artists called for the release of political prisoners and the lifting of the emergency state declared since 1963 on September 26, 2000. This movement marked the beginning of a political awakening amongst Syrians.
From the start of the "Damascus Spring" and a breath of freedom until February 2001, the country experienced relative changes, with some freedom of expression and the establishment of unofficial political forums that were quickly shut down after the detention of ten government opponents, swiftly ending the "Spring."
On October 16, 2005, the Syrian opposition launched the "Damascus Declaration," a document signed by numerous political forces and civil figures opposing the regime, calling for the end of Assad's rule and the establishment of a democratic, pluralistic system with the lifting of emergency laws. Turk was one of its signatories.
The regime immediately responded to the statement with a wave of broad arrests of many opponents, including Turk, arrested in 2001. A repression campaign ensued against those who signed the declaration, with increased state surveillance on citizens and military tightening, seeking to quell the popular movement.
Turk was sentenced by the State Security Court to two and a half years for "assault on the constitution, dissemination of false news weakening the nation's resolve and spirit and misdemeanors slandering the prestige of the state."
With the outbreak of the Syrian Revolution in March 2011, Turk expressed his full support for it and backed the peaceful movement against the Syrian regime, famously stating, "Our revolution is peaceful and popular, rejects sectarianism, and the Syrian people are one. No concessions, no negotiations."
He initially refused to leave Syria at the revolution's outset but was forced to flee covertly to Turkey in 2018, as his life became threatened due to his opposition to the regime, before finally settling in France.
Positions and Responsibilities
- Contributed to the establishment of the Syrian National Council between 2012-2014.
- Served as a member of the Syrian National Transitional Council, which acted as an interim government in regions liberated from the Syrian regime.
- Held the post of General Secretary for the third wing of the "Syrian Communist Party-Political Bureau."
Death
Riad Turk passed away on January 1, 2024, at the age of 93, in the French capital, Paris.
