British-Syrian activist Hassan Akkad, founder of the “Give Us the Money That You Owe!” campaign, was detained by Syrian security forces in Damascus on Wednesday evening. The incident occurred around 9:45 PM local time (18:45 GMT) at a cafe in the al-Malki district of the Syrian capital.
According to Akkad’s campaign, the arrest appears to be linked to a complaint filed by Syrian journalist and TV host Mousa al-Omar concerning “Hassan’s social media activities and public comments.” Akkad had previously been summoned to the cybercrime branch on June 4.
The campaign said that after the summons, Akkad paused online activities related to the case to “allow the investigation and legal process to proceed.” However, he later learned that additional lawsuits had also been filed against him, but he was not informed of the complainants’ identities.
Al Jazeera contacted Syrian authorities about the incident but received no response. Prosecutor Hossam Khattab confirmed Akkad was detained pursuant to an arrest warrant, but the case against him had been dismissed. Al-Omar told Al Jazeera he instructed his lawyer to inform police that he had withdrawn his complaint and expressed sadness over what had happened.
According to witness accounts, five plainclothes security officers entered the cafe where Akkad was meeting with several journalists. They initially demanded Akkad’s mobile phone before informing him he was under arrest. Akkad’s lawyers said the arrest raises questions about whether legal procedures were followed, as the reason for detention was not provided at the time of arrest.
Akkad, a refugee and former English teacher in his late 30s, previously won a BAFTA and an International Emmy for documenting his journey from Turkey to Europe after fleeing the Syrian civil war that began in 2011. He settled in the United Kingdom in 2015 and returned to Syria after years in exile when President Bashar al-Assad left the country.
Akkad’s campaign monitors financial pledges related to a public fundraising drive for Syria’s reconstruction since Assad’s ouster. In recent weeks, Akkad criticized al-Omar on social media for allegedly failing to honor financial commitments worth thousands of dollars to the country’s recovery efforts.
Lawyers argue the detention raises “broader concerns about the protection of freedom of expression,” especially as the charges appear linked to online comments and the use of cybercrime laws enacted under al-Assad, which “seem inconsistent with the interim government’s stated commitment to expanding freedom of speech protections following the collapse of the former regime.”
