{"id":170773,"date":"2026-06-21T17:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T17:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/170773\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T17:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T17:34:10","slug":"british-syrian-activist-hassan-akkad-released-in-damascus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/170773\/","title":{"rendered":"British-Syrian activist Hassan Akkad released in Damascus"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Hassan launched a campaign to track Syrian money donated to the country’s reconstruction [Getty]<\/p>\n

British-Syrian activist Hassan Akkad has been released from detention in Damascus <\/a>after spending four days in prison <\/a>over allegations linked to his criticism of public figures and social media activity.<\/p>\n

Akkad, a filmmaker and campaigner, was detained on Wednesday evening after being taken from a cafe in the al-Maliki district of the Syrian capital.<\/p>\n

His arrest was linked to complaints filed by Syrian journalist and television presenter Mousa al-Omar, following a public dispute over a campaign launched by Akkad to track financial pledges made by prominent figures towards Syria’s reconstruction.<\/p>\n

Akkad is the founder of the “Give Us the Money That You Owe!” initiative, which seeks to monitor whether public commitments made during fundraising drives for Syria are fulfilled.<\/p>\n

Following his detention, Public Prosecutor Hossam Khattab said warrants had been issued against Akkad after he failed to appear before the Cybercrime Control Division in relation to al-Omar’s complaint. Khattab also said that other plaintiffs had filed cases against the activist alleging slander and defamation.<\/p>\n

Akkad’s release came after al-Omar announced he had withdrawn his complaint.<\/p>\n

“My legal representative dropped the right and the lawsuit against my brother Hassan this morning and pardoned him for the sake of Almighty God,” al-Omar wrote on X.<\/p>\n

“I was saddened by what he brought upon himself, and I wish him success in his social media activities and I will always be a supporter of him.”<\/p>\n

Al-Omar had earlier told Al Jazeera that he had instructed his lawyer to withdraw the case and said that all funds pledged during the campaign had been paid.<\/p>\n

Akkad is a prominent figure among Syrians in Britain.<\/p>\n

He was imprisoned twice by the regime of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad for documenting anti-government protests in 2011.<\/p>\n

After fleeing Syria, he travelled across Europe before reaching the UK in 2015.<\/p>\n

Footage from his journey was later featured in the award-winning documentary series Exodus: Our Journey to Europe, which received a BAFTA award.<\/p>\n

The detention sparked concern among some activists and observers, who viewed the case as a test of freedom of expression in Syria following the fall of the Assad government.<\/p>\n

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