Surrounded by bouquets of flowers and well-wishers at his Damascus flat after being freed from five years in prison, the 52-year-old leading human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni expressed his intention to comintue on the path for reform. Al Buni  emerged from five years behind the walls of Adra prison, near the capital, on Sunday to discover the upheaval roiling his country since mid-March.

"My concern today is what needs to be done to reach a peaceful solution to the unrest in Syria, with the least number of casualties," Bunni told AFP in an interview.

While aware in his cell of trouble on the outside, he said he didn't realise the breadth of the unrest until his release, and is heartened by the protesters' resolve.

"The reforms sought today in Syria reflect the demands we (rights advocates) have been making for years," Bunni said.
"And we served time in jail because of these demands."

Bunni for sure has paid a steep price for his views, as has his family.

His three brothers and sister have served time in jail, also for promoting reform, his wife Raghida lost her government job because of his advocacy work and his three children spent most of their critical teenage years without the presence of a father.

"Between myself and my siblings, along with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, we spent a total 70 years in jail," said the lawyer with sharp dark eyes and trimmed moustache.

"Since 1977 we've spent our life in and out of jail, saying goodbye and being reunited," he added.
"Can you imagine that I served 18 months in the same jail as my brother Akram and I was never allowed to see him?"

Today however, his family no longer feels isolated in its struggle and those who turned the other way when passing them on the sidewalk are not scared to show support.
"The wall of fear has come down," he said.

Bunni was sentenced to five years in prison in April 2007 for signing the Beirut-Damascus declaration, which urged improved ties with Lebanon.
He was charged at the time with spreading false information that undermined the state.

He said he whiled away the hours in jail reading law books, drafting legislation for reform and keeping fit.
His cellmates were all convicted criminals, including several sentenced to death for murder.

"I was allowed weekly family visits but a guard was always standing by with notebook and pen," he said.
But despite the harsh conditions, Bunni said he never lost hope.
"In the worst of times, I was expecting this moment," he said, referring to the pro-democracy upheaval in Syria. "I was behind bars but I never lost my freedom within.
"I was never broken."

He said that the only way out of the current crisis was for the authoritarian regime to stop its harsh crackdown against protesters, free all political prisoners and allow a multi-party system before launching a national dialogue.
"The state needs to realise that violence will not shut people up," he said.

"All along we have been saying that muzzling people and failing to allow them to peacefully express themselves ... will lead to tension and a crisis in society."
As for himself, Bunni said he has no other alternative than to continue his struggle.

"I will pursue my work for the sake of our children," he said, dismissing any suggestion of leaving the country. "We don't want our children to have the life we had.
"We have to at least try. We may not succeed but at least we would have tried."