Abdullah Al-Khateeb
"A people that are still alive is a sign of victory,” he said. “So long as there are people painting, people playing piano, people getting an education, all of these are signs of optimism."
The 2016 Per Anger prize was awarded to 27-year-old Syrian-Palestinian human rights activist Abdullah al-Khateeb, for his brave struggle for human rights in Syria. Every year the Living History Forum awards the Per Anger prize, on behalf of the Swedish government, to a person who has shown great courage and initiative in striving to promote democracy and humanitarian efforts, without any thought of personal benefit.
A people that are still alive is a sign of victory. So long as there are people painting, people playing piano, people getting an education, all of these are signs of optimism.
Abdullah Al-Khateeb is a founding member of the Palestinian League for Human Rights (PLHR), a network established in 2012 to document and promote the human rights of Palestinian refugees. Since 2011, Al-Khateeb has been documenting human rights abuses committed by different parties within the Syrian conflict, whilst also volunteering to provide humanitarian assistance in the Yarmouk refugee camp.
The situation for human rights defenders (HRDs) in Syria has rapidly deteriorated since the beginning of the government's violent crackdown against nation-wide peaceful protests in 2011. HRDs, who already faced significant difficulties in remaining active under a highly repressive regime, have since been at even higher risk of direct targeting and persecution, including arbitrary arrest and detention, malicious prosecution, death threats, restrictions on their freedom of movement, abduction, defamation, and other forms of harassment and intimidation.
