Emran Feroz - Al Jumhuriya, 06 April 2017 In a conversation with Enrab Feroz, Syrian intellectual Yassin al-Haj Saleh talks about his criticism of political observers and experts in the West who claim that there is no alternative to Assad and that shoring up the regime would be the lesser of two evils You have…
Interview with Yassin al-Hal Saleh in De Standaard
Al Jumhuriya, 13 January 2017 Interview with Yassin al-Haj Saleh, translated from Flemish into English by: Jorn Decock. Sixteen years and fourteen days. That is how long Yassin al-Haj Saleh was imprisoned in the cells of Assad senior. The Syrian author is not however a broken man, even though his wife and brother disappeared three…
Syria’s “Voice of Conscience” Has a Message for the West
The Intercept, 26 October 2016 Yassin al-Haj Saleh has lived a life of struggle for his country. Under the Syrian regime of Hafez al-Assad, he was a student activist organizing against the government. In 1980, Saleh and hundreds of others were arrested and accused of membership in a left-wing political group. He was just 19 years old when a…
Syria is a unique symbol of injustice, apathy and amnesia
The Chronikler, 20 January 2016 Yassin al-Haj Saleh is a leading Syrian writer, a former political prisoner and one of Syria’s foremost intellectuals. Ever since his student days, Saleh has been a vocal critic of the Assad regimes. He was arrested in 1980 during the presidency of Hafez al-Assad and spent the next 16 years as…
Three Monsters
The New Inquiry - 24 November 2015 An interview with Yassin al-Haj Saleh on the role of culture in Syria’s struggle Yassin al-Haj Saleh is a Syrian writer, intellectual and former political prisoner. In 1980, while studying medicine at Aleppo University, the 19-year-old Yassin was arrested by Hafez al-Assad’s government for his membership in the…
Ogres and Orientalism: An Interview with Yassin al-Hajj Saleh
Radio Free Syria, 4 July 2015 Yassin Al Haj Saleh is one of Syria’s most iconic political dissidents, intellectuals and authors. He was imprisoned by the Assad regime for 16 years from 1980 to 1996 for his membership of a leftist party, going on to become a widely acclaimed author and journalist, and one of the…
Syria, Iran, ISIS and the Future of Social Justice: “In dialogue with Yassin al-Haj Saleh”
Radio Zamaneh, 29 May 2015 Yassin al-Haj Saleh is a leading Syrian intellectual and former political prisoner who participated in the Syrian Revolution from its beginning in March 2011. Since October 2013 he has been forced into exile in Turkey where he continues to write and speak out in defense of the aspirations of that…
Syria and the Left
New Politics, Winter 2015 Yassin Al Haj Saleh is one of Syria’s leading political dissidents. He spent from 1980-1996 in Syrian prisons and became one of the key intellectual voices of the 2011 Syrian uprising. He spent 21 months in hiding within Syria, eventually escaping to Istanbul. He was interviewed via email by New Politics…
Yassin al-Haj Saleh: “The International left is suffering a major crisis”
Socialist Core, 29 November 2014 Interview with Yassin al-Haj Saleh, Syrian writer and activist. Bashar al-Assad’s political prisoner for 16 years between 1980 and 1996. He has been living in Istanbul this last year. Interview conducted by Lucha Internacionalista (Internationalist Fight – LI) from the Spanish State and İşçi Demokrasisi Partisi (Workers Democracy Party –…
How the West reports the Syrian news
Free Word, 19 May 2014 Noted Syrian writer and former political prisoner Yassin al-Haj Saleh explains how the West reports the news in Syria - and imagines what coverage would emerge if Britain suffered an equivalent crisis Yassin al-Haj Saleh is a noted Syrian writer, public intellectual and former political prisoner born in al-Raqqa, Syria. He was…