Noura Aljizawi

Noura Aljizawi (formally Noura Al-Ameer al-Jizawi) is a Toronto-based academic, activist, spokesperson, former refugee, and Syrian political opposition leader.[1][2]

Early life

At the age of six, Aljizawi was obliged by the government of Syria to wear military-style uniforms. She noticed at school how many of her classmates' fathers had disappeared, later realizing they were detained and executed political prisoners.[3]

Life in Syria
Anti government protest in Homs

In Damascus, Aljizawi studied for her master’s degree in comparative literature and at the same time spoke out about the leadership of Syrian President Assad and organized demonstrations.[4] She wrote a blog critical of the President.[3][4]

In 2011 Aljizawi led antigovernmental protests in Homs.[5]

Her political activities resulted in her being arrested by the Damascus (215th) branch of Military Intelligence Directorate on 28 March 2012.[6] Held in various prisons, she was tortured with electricity and interrogated for 12 hours per day.[1][4][3][7] While under arrest she was denied access to a lawyer and contact with her family.[6] Her captors threatened to harm her friends and family.[7] Her laptop, which contained her evidence of graduation, was confiscated and her graduation and attendance records were deleted from university records by the Syrian state.[3]

After an international campaign led by Reporters without Borders,[8][9] she was released from jail in 2012 and she fled to Turkey.[3]

Life in Turkey

In 2014, Aljizawi was elected as the vice-president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.[4][3] In her role she led negotiation attempts, trying to find peace and justice.[3]

In 2016, her email account was subjected to a hacking attempt that was thwarted by the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab.[4][10]

She resigned from her role later in 2016, after concluding that negotiations were hopeless.[3]

Life in Canada

In 2017, Aljizawi was accepted to the University of Toronto scholars-at-risk program and relocated to Canada.[4][1] She studied for a Masters in Global Affairs at the Munk School of Global Affairs.[1] Her studied focus on Guinea’s malaria treatment and eradication program.[4]

In February 2018, Aljizawi traveled to Geneva to give evidence to the United Nations Human Rights Council about the situation in Syria.[1][2]

In 2021 Aljizawi was thanked in the International Journal of Communication for her support with documenting online misinformation.[11]

Family life

Aljizawi lives with her husband and they have one daughter born in 2015.[1][5]

References
  1. Gibson, Victoria (2018-03-07). "Syrian revolutionary studies at U of T, speaks out for those left behind". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  2. "Syria a 'torture-chamber', U.N. says in call to free detainees". Reuters. 2017-03-14. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  3. "From Syrian opposition leader to master's student in Canada". Times Higher Education (THE). 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  4. "'You cannot defeat me': U of T grad Noura Al-Jizawi, a leader of the Syrian uprising, takes on a new challenge". University of Toronto News. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  5. Adams, Simon. Mass Atrocities, the Responsibility to Protect and the Future of Human Rights: ‘If Not Now, When?’. N.p.: Taylor & Francis, 2021.
  6. Stoter, Brenda. "Torture in Syria". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  7. Mak, Tim (2015-03-30). "Imprisoned and Tortured in Syria—and Then Rejected by Washington". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  8. "Lives of citizen journalist and activist in danger" (PDF). Reporters without Borders. 3 April 2012.
  9. "Lives of citizen journalist and activist in danger | Reporters without borders". RSF. 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  10. "Researchers Uncover New Cyber-Espionage Operation Targeting the Syrian Opposition". Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  11. Abrahams, Alexei; Leber, Andrew (2021-02-16). "Comparative Approaches to Mis/Disinformation| Electronic Armies or Cyber Knights? The Sources of Pro-Authoritarian Discourse on Middle East Twitter". International Journal of Communication. 15: 27. ISSN 1932-8036.
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