Newspaper in Syrian Arab Republic resumes circulation in Damascus after fall of Assad regime

DUBAI: The Syrian newspaper Enab Baladi has resumed distribution in the streets of Damascus and its suburbs after more than a decade-long ban under Bashar Assad’s regime.

The newspaper, which dubs itself as “an independent Syrian media organization,” documented the Syrian regime’s violations during the revolution when it launched in 2012.

The newspaper’s distribution was limited to opposition-controlled northern areas until 2020 after Assad’s brutal crackdown on dissent.

Its editorial stance led to the arrest of many staff members, while others were tortured to death in prisons or killed by shelling and military operations in Daraya.

The media organization said: “The first copies were printed through self-funding and the efforts of its founding staff using a home printer, distributed secretly by volunteers in the neighborhoods of Daraya and Damascus.”

The organization relied on expanding its digital and visual content to reach audiences online, or through printed copies that were smuggled within Syria.

With the fall of the Assad regime on Dec. 8 last year after a 12-day blistering campaign led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, Enab Baladi resumed distribution in Damascus after a newsroom was established in the capital.

It said the move was aimed at “ensuring freedom of expression during an ambiguous transitional phase.”

The media organization added: “The return of printing inside Syria represents a victory for free journalism and an opportunity to reconnect with the audience inside Syria.”