Khaled Khalifa, the Syrian writer who opposed Assad, has died

AGI – The Syrian writer died at his home in Damascus at the age of 59 Khaled Khalifa, suffered a heart attack. He was celebrated for his novels, television scripts and editorials, which earned him one of the highest literary recognitions in the Arab world. The news of the death was spread by journalist Yaroub Aleesa, who had spent the last few days near Khalifa: “We called him repeatedly and he didn’t answer. When we went to his house we found him dead on the sofa.” .

The author was known for his opposition to the Syrian president’s ruling coalition Bashar al-Assad, the Baath, which he could often criticize in the newspapers, but despite this position he chose to remain in the country despite the repression triggered by the 2011 civil war. “I was born here, I live here and I want to die here,” he said in an interview. In 2013, he won the Naghib Mahfouz literary prize with the novel “There are no knives in the kitchens of this city”, translated into Italian by Bompiani .

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