Syrian Opposition Stalwart Riad al-Turk Passes Away in France at 93
Prominent Syrian opposition figure Riad al-Turk passed away on Monday in France at the age of 93, as confirmed by his daughter Khozama to the French Press Agency. Khozama stated, "My father passed away content and at peace with everything he achieved, surrounded by his grandchildren and his two daughters."
Al-Turk is regarded as one of the veteran opposers of the Syrian regime, having begun his struggle against the regime of Hafez al-Assad, during which he spent 17 years in prison. He was also incarcerated during the term of Assad's son, Bashar al-Assad, earning him the title "Syrian Mandela" by the Syrian people.
His daughter Khozama also expressed, "I feel that many Syrians are mourning him. But as he often said, the rest of the Syrian youth will undoubtedly continue the journey."
Brigitte Cormi, the French ambassador to Syria, paid tribute on Platform X with "respect and humility for the life of harsh battles" lived by "Syrian Mandela Riad al-Turk who has just left us."
Many activists and intellectuals from the Syrian opposition community mourned his death. Among them, some cited his famous statement "the dictator is dead," which he bravely uttered following the death of Hafez al-Assad and which led to his re-imprisonment during the rule of Bashar al-Assad.
Through Platform X, Syrian writer and opponent Yassin al-Haj Saleh described al-Turk as "one of the most prominent Syrian democratic activists and one of the most courageous, resilient, and clear-minded heroes of the people."
Al-Turk received French protection under the "constitutional asylum" law, granted to those who fight for freedom, including journalists, artists, and intellectuals.
He served for an extended period as the General Secretary of the Political Bureau, a faction that split from the Syrian Communist Party, which was banned by the Assad government and later renamed the Syrian Democratic People's Party in the early 21st century.
Additionally, he was among the signatories of the "Damascus Declaration," a statement adopted by Syrian opposition groups in 2005 calling for "a radical and democratic change" in the country.
Following the eruption of demonstrations in 2011, demanding the fall of the Syrian regime, al-Turk, originally from Homs (160 kilometers north of Damascus), lent his support to the peaceful protest movement and the Syrian National Council, an assembly established in the summer of 2011 in Istanbul to unify opposition forces.
