Hakem al-Fayez (1932 - 6 December 2013) was a Jordanian political activist. He was a member of the Jordanian and Syrian Branch of the

Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...

. He was jailed in Syria for 23 years after

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 1 ...

took over power in a coup d'état. Fayez moved to

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and lived there for several years. He was arrested after the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

in November 1970. At the time of his arrest he was member of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party and considered a supporter of

Salah Jadid Salah Jadid (1926 – 19 August 1993, ar, صلاح جديد, Ṣalāḥ Jadīd) was a Syrian general, a leader of the left-wing of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Syria, and the country's ''de facto'' leader from 1966 until 1970, when h ...

. He then spent over twenty years in

Mezzeh prison Mezzeh prison () is a now-defunct Syrian prison overlooking the capital, Damascus. Mezzeh (also transcribed as ''al-Mazzah'', ''el-Mezze'' etc.) is the name of a neighborhood in western Damascus. Both military and political prisoners were held at ...

, being released in 1993. Fayez then returned to Jordan. After the bombing of Iraq by the United States and the United Kingdom in 1998 Fayez headed the Jordanian National Mobilisation Committee for the Defense of Iraq (NMCDI) after the previous head, Sulayman Arar, died. The NMCDI sought support amongst Arabs to cease the existing embargo against Iraq. It further sponsored peaceful protests, conferences and visiting speakers. Fayez wished to stand candidate in the 2003 elections for the House of Representatives. However, his candidateship was rejected by the Central Elections Committee on the grounds that he did not stand candidate in the right district. As a

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

from the Central Badia District he needed to compete there, in line with the quota. Fayez appealed the decision, saying he was a Jordanian citizen with the right to compete in any district he wanted. He also found the quota to be degrading. He had five children, three sons and two daughters. His daughter

Hind al-Fayez Hind Al-Fayez was born in 1968, currently a journalist, politician and formar member in Parliament of Jordan for 2013 elections . She gained worldwide attention after a Jordanian member of parliament told her to sit down after she interrupted him, ...

was elected to the House of Representatives for the Central Badia district Women's Quota in the 2013 elections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fayez, Hakem al 2013 deaths Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region politicians Jordanian people imprisoned abroad Members of the Jordanian Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party Prisoners and detainees of Syria 1932 births

See also

References