Syrian activist, researcher flagged as a security threat

A Syrian activist who was subject to torture by Bashar al-Assad’s regime has been flagged by Canada as a national security risk, following her involvement in international legal efforts against Damascus, reports the Middle East Monitor.

Over the past decade, 35-year-old Noura Aljizawi, a prominent Syrian human rights activist and defender, was arrested numerous times for criticising the Syrian regime and its leadership, as well as for leading anti-government protests during the Arab Spring since 2011. In detention, she was reportedly subject to the common torture tactics used by regime security forces, such as with electric cables. She was then chosen to represent opposition parties in failed negotiations to end the crisis as Syria devolved into armed conflict and civil war.

Aljizawi then fled to Türkiye like many refugees and opposition figures, before moving to Canada when the University of Toronto accepted her into its scholars-at-risk programme in 2017. She now works at the university’s Citizen Lab, conducting research on how authoritarian regimes use digital technology to oppress and monitor their countries and people.
Full report on the Middle East Monitor site