May 26, 2004
On May 11, in accordance with the Syria Accountability Act, President Bush imposed new political and economic sanctions on Syria. The Syrian government, not surprisingly, was quick to condemn this move, calling the sanctions “unjust and unjustified,” and portraying Syria as a “democratic country that fights terrorism.”
While this sort of pro-democracy rhetoric has been a staple of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s four-year tenure, the story of Aktham Naeesah – a lawyer, activist, and the recent recipient of the prestigious Ludovic-Trarieux award for his human-rights work – provides a glimpse into the Syrian “democratic” reality.