5.RAZAN ZAITOUNEH

Without the perseverance of human rights lawyer Razan Zaitouneh, the world would be even more in the dark about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s killings and torture of civilian protesters. Her daily reporting on the Assad regime’s atrocities — which she posted to her website, the Syrian Human Rights Information Link — served as a critical source for foreign media.

Although forced to go into hiding in March 2011 after the government accused her of being a foreign agent, Zaitouneh was awarded the Anna Politkovskaya Award for her human rights activism in a conflict zone, and she was a co-recipient of last year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Foreign Policy also honored her in 2011 as one of its top 100 Global Thinkers. “I’m very proud to be Syrian and to be part of these historical days, and to feel all that greatness inside my people,” she said in a video accepting the award. “We highly appreciate all the help … of those who supported us in any way around the world.”

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