Mohammad Al Abdallah is a Syrian human rights lawyer, democracy researcher, and activist. He was imprisoned in Syria on two separate occasions by the Assad regime for his work defending human rights and lobbying for political reform, and is a survivor of torture. He previously worked as a researcher for Human Rights Watch, where he covered Syria from 2007–2009. After the Syrian uprising began in 2011, Al Abdallah started the Syria Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC), a Syrian human rights organization that works on ensuring that human rights violations from all sides are well documented, preserved, and analyzed, and that perpetrators are held accountable for their crimes. Al Abdallah is a recipient of the Anne Frank Award for contributions to the cause of human rights. He holds a bachelor of law from the Lebanese University, and a master’s of public policy from George Mason University with a specialty in governance and international institutions.