Ghiath Matar was a Syrian activist who became known for giving flowers to soldiers in his home town of

Darayya Darayya ( ar, دَارَيَّا, Dārayyā) is a suburb of Damascus in Syria, the centre of Darayya lying south-west of the centre of Damascus. Administratively it belongs to Rif Dimashq. History and population Darayya is one of the oldest c ...

Death

Ghiath was arrested on 6 September 2011 by the security forces of the Syrian government. Four days later, his body was returned to his family with scars and sores resulting from severe torture. His funeral was attended by the ambassadors of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. When Ghiath died, his wife was expecting their first baby. The baby was named after his father. Ghiath Matar became a symbol of peaceful resistance of the Syrian revolution. A documentary on Matar, by the filmmaker Sam Kadi, ''

Little Gandhi ''Little Gandhi'' is a 2016 Syrian documentary film directed by Sam Kadi. It was selected as the Syrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awa ...

'', was a winner at the Independent European Film Festival in April 2016, winning the Ahmed Khedr Award for Excellence in Arab Filmmaking.detroitfreepress
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References

Year of birth missing 2011 deaths Syrian activists Syrian torture victims {{Syria-activist-stub