Justice Dept: Virginia Man Spying for Syria

Officials Say Man Part of Conspiracy to 'Silence' Protests

In an announcement made earlier today, the Justice Department reported that they have arrested and indicted Mohamad Soueid, a US citizen from Leesburg, Virginia, on charges that he was spying on protesters for the Syrian government.

The charges against Soueid included acting as “an unregistered agent of the Syrian government,” and he faces up to 40 years in prison on the various allegations, if convicted.

The Justice Department further claims Soueid was part of a vast conspiracy to “silence, intimidate and potentially harm the protesters.” This was accomplished by video-taping protests in the US.

Officials and opposition figures have repeatedly accused the Syrian government of spying on Western protesters against the Assad regime, and some reports have them going after their families living inside Syria. This is the first confirmed arrest related to those allegations, however.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.