The Honored No. (25) Haitham al-Maleh

• Haitham Khalil Al-Maleh was born in 1931 in the Souq Sarouja neighborhood of Damascus, where his father worked for the Hejaz Railway Company.
• He received his primary education at Muawiya School near Marjeh Square in central Damascus, then attended Ibn Khaldun Secondary School. He entered the Faculty of Law at the University of Damascus, earning a law degree and later a diploma in international law.
• He began his career as a lawyer in 1957 and transitioned to the judiciary in 1958. However, in 1966, the Syrian authorities passed a special law that led to his dismissal as a judge, prompting him to return to law practice.
• Al-Maleh became active in politics starting in 1951 during the military rule of President Adib Al-Shishakli.
• He was imprisoned from 1980 to 1986 during the era of Hafez al-Assad, along with many unionists, political activists, and opposition members, due to his calls for constitutional reforms.
• During his imprisonment, he went on several hunger strikes, totaling 110 days, including a continuous 70-day strike that brought him close to death.
• Since 1989, he has worked with Amnesty International and contributed to founding the Syrian Human Rights Association.
• In 2005, he, along with other figures, signed the Damascus Declaration, calling for constitutional reforms and political pluralism in Syria.
• He was arrested again on October 14, 2009, at the age of 78.
• Human rights organizations in London and Damascus announced that he was detained by the Political Security Branch in Damascus. This arrest followed a telephone interview he gave to the opposition Syrian satellite channel Barada TV, where he criticized the current situation in Syria and called for fighting corruption.
• He was released following a general presidential amnesty on March 13, 2011.
• After the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, he joined the Syrian National Council in December 2011 as a national figure and served on its executive committee until his resignation on March 13, 2012.
• On July 31, 2012, he announced the establishment of the Syrian Revolutionary Trustees Council, a political coalition, before joining the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which led to his dismissal from the presidency of the Trustees Council in December 2012.
• He became a member of the opposition delegation to the Geneva II peace talks.
• He chaired the legal committee of the National Coalition until his resignation on January 19, 2019, citing “attempts to marginalize and exclude” him by some leaders within the coalition.
• In 2020, he published a book titled “Political Illuminations,” discussing his views, positions, and writings, including articles, legal arguments, and statements from 2001 to 2012.
• He has received several awards and honors, including a Dutch award in 2006, which he was unable to receive due to a travel ban, the Geneva Courage Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2010, and he was honored by the French National Advisory Commission on Human Rights in 2004.
• He has currently withdrawn from public life due to his health condition.

In the Syrian Future Movement (SFM), in recognition of his rich and distinguished academic, political, and diplomatic history, his stand with the people in their revolution against oppression and tyranny, and in gratitude to the great figures of Syria, we present this week’s Syrian Future Movement Shield to the elder of Syrian jurists, Haitham Al-Maleh. This symbolic Syrian shield embodies our comprehensive national vision and approach.