Nureddin al-Atassi: The President Hafez Imprisoned for 22 Years

Nureddin al-Atassi was a Ba'athist physician who served as the nominal president of Syria from 1966 to 1970 under the real authority of Salah Jadid. On November 13, 1970, Hafez al-Assad's Corrective Movement coup arrested al-Atassi along with Jadid and the entire neo-Ba'ath leadership. Al-Atassi was held at Mezzeh Military Prison for 22 years without ever being charged with a crime or brought to trial. He developed serious health conditions in detention. International human rights organizations repeatedly demanded his release. Hafez refused for two decades. In 1992, with al-Atassi apparently dying, the regime finally agreed to release him on humanitarian grounds. He was flown to Paris. He died three days after his arrival. He was 63 years old. He had spent more than a third of his life in Hafez's prison.