Haitham al-Maleh

Haitham al-Maleh (, born August 15, 1931) is a Syrian human rights activist and former judge. An independent Islamist and longtime critic of Syria's Ba'athist regime, he was imprisoned several times after standing for human rights and calling for constitutional reforms. In the early 2000s, al-Maleh was a figure of the Damascus Spring. During the Syrian Civil War, he was active in opposition groups. He was a member of the Syrian National Council then of the Syrian National Coalition.

Background Born in Sarouja, Damascus, Haitham al-Maleh earned a degree in law and a diploma in international law from the Damascus University. He became a judge in 1958. The first Ba'athist government dismissed him from the judicial bench because of his public criticism of the 1963 Emergency Law, which suspended constitutional rights and codified martial law. He has been active in Amnesty International since 1989. He also supported the 2005 Damascus Declaration. In 2004 Maleh received the French National Consultative Commission of Human Rights "Human Rights Honor Award" for his research on torture in Syria, and the annual award for the dignity of the Geneva Human Rights Defenders in 2010, in addition to other awards and honors. a political analysis show on Barada TV, a London-based satellite channel operated by Syrian dissidents. Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience, "detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression", and called for his immediate release.

He was released on 8 March 2011 after a presidential amnesty on the anniversary of the arrival of the Ba'ath party's ascension to power, which was extended only to prisoners over 70 years old.

Maleh requested Syrian authorities to cease political detention permanently, release all political prisoners, and affirm the right of every Syrian citizen to express his opinion. He noted that political prisoners are those who voice their opinions, and are not advocates of violence.

In late February 2012, shortly before the second conference of the Friends of Syria Group in Istanbul, al-Maleh, together with several other high-profile members including Kamal al-Labwani, left the Syrian National Council and formed another group, the "Patriotic Action Front", ostensibly to demand more support for the Free Syrian Army. Al-Maleh commented that the split had been motivated by the leadership of SNC president Burhan Ghalioun and by the undue dominance of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood over the council. The Patriotic Action Front soon disintegrated due to internal conflicts. Eventually, al-Maleh joined the Syrian National Coalition that was formed in November 2012, becoming head of its legal committee. In March 2013, he announced on behalf of the coalition that Ghassan Hitto would lead the Syrian Interim Government.

In February 2014, al-Maleh was appointed by the Syrian National Coalition as Syria's envoy to the Arab League.

After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, al-Maleh returned to Damascus and attempted to deliver a speech at the Umayyad Mosque. However, members of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham forcibly removed him from the minbar.