Underneath the façade of normalcy that Syrian authorities are good at orchestrating for the benefit of their foreign visitors, the human rights situation in the country is in constant deterioration on account of continuous and intensified crackdowns. Indeed, Syrian jails now host the world’s oldest dissident (Haitham Al-Maleh, 80) and the world youngest (Tal Al-Mallouhi, 19). Indeed, the latter has not been seen by anyone since her arrest less than a year ago, and is rumored to have died under torture. Despite a massive international campaign demanding her release, Syrian authorities continue to withhold all information regarding her whereabouts and condition. Meanwhile, European and American leaders are busy engaging Bashar Al-Assad in the misplaced hope of breaking his regime’s long-term strategic alliance with Iran, and for this, they are willing to put up with the man’s murderous practices in Syria and across the region. Syria is an authoritarian state and the Assad regime is corrupt and repressive. The world should not be made to forget this fact, and the world’s free press should continuously highlight it. CNN needs to do a report to bring a semblance of balance to coverage related to Syria.