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    October 12, 2011

US Citizen Accused of Spying on Syrian Protesters

   VOA News
   Syrian women hold the national flag and protest in front of the Syrian
   embassy condemning the killing and torturing women in Syria by Bashar
   al-Assad's regime, in Amman, Jordan, September 29, 2011.
   Photo: AP
   Syrian women hold the national flag and protest in front of the Syrian
   embassy condemning the killing and torturing women in Syria by Bashar
   al-Assad's regime, in Amman, Jordan, September 29, 2011.

   The United States has charged a Syrian-born U.S. citizen with spying on
   people in the United States who are protesting the Syrian government
   and with providing information to Syrian agents.
   U.S. officials announced Wednesday that Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid is
   accused of conspiring to collect information about protesters in the
   U.S. and Syria, and giving materials to Syrian intelligence agencies to
   silence, intimidate and possibly harm the protesters.
   A six-count indictment unsealed Wednesday in Virginia charges Soueid
   with acting as an unregistered agent of the Syrian government, and
   making false statements when buying weapons and to U.S. law enforcement
   officials.
   The Justice Department said Soueid, a resident of Leesburg, Virginia,
   was arrested on Tuesday and will make his first appearance before a
   U.S. judge on Wednesday.
   If convicted, he faces maximum prison terms of 15 years on conspiracy
   and foreign agent charges, 15 years on weapons purchase charges and 10
   years on false statement charges.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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