Riad Hammoud Darar (, born 1954) is a

Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

political and social

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

and author from

Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor () is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 ...

. He was a campaigner for

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

for

Kurds in Syria The Kurdish population of Syria is the country's largest ethnic minority, usually estimated at around 10% of the Syrian population Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, constituting around 10 per cent of the population – around 2 ...

since 2000. During his activism, he was

imprisoned Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

by the

Syrian government The government of Syria takes place in a presidential system and is currently in a transitionary period under and led by a transitional government. The seat of the government is located in Damascus, Syria. On 8 December 2024, after the succ ...

for 5 years and was released in 2010. On 25 February 2017, he was elected as the co-chair of the

Syrian Democratic Council The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) is the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). The SDC's stated mission is working towards the implementation of a "Pluralistic, democ ...

Early life

Riad Darar was born in

in 1954. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

some time later, and became a

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

and an

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

at a mosque in Deir ez-Zor.

Political career

Since 2000, Riad Darar became a political activist and began to work with various

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s. After an

uprising Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

in 2004, Mashouq al-Khaznawi, a Kurdish

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

religious leader, was arrested and

assassinate Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

d by the Syrian military intelligence in May 2005. Riad Darar was among those who were present at al-Khaznawi's funeral, and gave a speech. The next month, Darar was arrested. On 2 April 2006, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison by the Supreme State Security Court. On 10 June 2010, Riad Darar was released from prison. In June 2011, during the early phase of the Syrian uprising, he became a founding member of the

National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change The National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCC), or National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB) (), is a Syrian coalition of Syrian opposition to Bashar al-Assad, opposition movements formed at the onset of the Syrian ...

, a

bloc. Riad Darar became one of the major figures in the Syrian opposition. In August 2014, he resigned from the NCC due to the lack of unity. On 25 February 2017, during the second conference of the

al-Malikiyah Al-Malikiyah (; ; ) also known as Derik, is a city in northeastern Syria and the center of an administrative district belonging to Al-Hasakah Governorate. The district constitutes the northeastern corner of the country, and is where the Syrian ...

, Riad Darar was elected as the co-leader of the SDC, replacing

Haytham Manna Haytham Manna (al-Awdat) is a Syrian writer; he spent three decades as a human rights activist who helped create and became spokesperson for the Arab Commission for Human Rights (ACHR). In 2011, during the early stages of the Syrian civil war, h ...

, another former NCC member who resigned from the SDC. Riad Darar then announced his support for

federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...

and

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

in Syria, including in Deir ez-Zor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darar, Riad Syrian democracy activists Rojava politicians Living people Syrian Muslims Syrian imams 1954 births People from Deir ez-Zor Anti-Assad politicians of the Syrian civil war Damascus University alumni

Early life

Political career

See also

References