Deyaa Alrwishdi

Deyaa Alrwishdi (@deyaa_alrwishdi) is an adjunct professor of law and the director of the Syrian Initiative to Combat Sexual and Gender-Based Violence at American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL). He has a decade of project management and legal development experience. Prior to the Syrian conflict, Mr. Alrwishdi served as the legal deputy at the Syrian Construction and Establishment Institute, where he provided leadership and direction for staff and ensured compliance with the institution’s policies. Following the Syrian uprising, Mr. Alrwishdi worked at the national and international levels to advocate for victims of human rights violations in Syria, including directly defending activists arrested at protests and documenting atrocities across Syria. Mr. Alrwishdi is an active voice in Syrian civil society; he founded the Free Syrian Lawyers Association and the Center for Rule of Law and Good Governance with the goal of amplifying the voices of Syrian civil society and working towards the transition to justice in post-conflict situations. His civil society and human rights accomplishments have been recognized on several occasions. He received the Rubin International Human Rights Award from Stanford Law School and the Alumni Fund Scholarship from AUWCL. He holds an LL.B. from Damascus University and an LL.M. from AUWCL.