Najati Tayara

Najati Tayara is a leading Syrian writer and editor. Prior to the Syrian Revolution, Tayara worked with several human rights organizations as an editor and writer. As a result of his work, he experienced constant harassment, and his magazine Tayyarat was closed down.

Tayara co-wrote the book Political Parties and National Arab Movements, published in Damascus 1997. Other publications include A portrait of a Renaissance Pioneer, published by the Al Tanweer publishing house in Damascus in 2001. He has also published numerous articles and essays in various Arabic newspapers and was editor of the Al-Marsad magazine, published by the now banned Syrian Association for Human Rights 

In May 2011 Najati Tayara was arrested in the city of Homs after he gave a telephone interview for Aljazeera TV on the crackdown by Syrian forces on peaceful protesters in Homs. He was released in January 2012, after severe pressure from the international community, and has since lived in illegal exile because of the risks of returning to Syria. He was Paris City of Refuge's guest writer from 2013 to 2015.