“The news lied about everything – even the weather”

“There was a lack of information. We used to joke that the news lied about everything, even the weather. It could be raining, and they’d still say it was sunny.”

– Yara Bader

As a young journalist working under one of the world’s most repressive regimes, Yara Bader learned early how dangerous it was to speak openly. The Assad regime had a suffocating grip on Syria’s media, and propaganda was a tool to stay in power. The government monitored and controlled every aspect of the media, from newspaper distribution to internet access. Journalists had to use proxies to access banned websites like Wikipedia, and even then, their every move was tracked.

“In Syria, no journalist writes freely. When you’ve lived your whole life under a dictatorship, you overthink every word,” says Yara Bader, prominent Syrian journalist and Programmes Manager at SCM.

From its inception, the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) reported on the grim realities faced by journalists in Syria – arbitrary detentions, torture, and even murder. As one of the few independent voices documenting these abuses, the organisation quickly became a critical source of information for the international community. Their work stands as a testament to the power of journalism and the relentless pursuit of freedom of expression.

Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award 2025

This year, the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) was awarded the Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award. Yara Bader will come to Stockholm in May to accept the award together with colleagues from the organisation.