Darwish is the president of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, a partner organization of Reporters Without Borders, founded in 2004.

"[7] Thirty-five international press freedom organizations co-signed a letter protesting the sentence, describing it as part of "an ongoing pattern of harassment and detention of journalists and activists.

[3] In March, he participated in a protest calling for political prisoners to be released, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that he was arrested shortly after.

[1][11] The Switzerland-based International Commission of Jurists reported in August that Darwish was being tried before a secret military court and could face a death sentence with no appeal.

[17][18] Together with Anwar al-Bunni, Darwish has filed a case with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights against institutions of the Assad regime.