A Syrian-born naturalized U.S. citizen living in Virginia was sentenced to 18 months in jail followed by three years of supervised release after he was found guilty of spying for the Syrian government.
"Mohamad Soueid acted as an unregistered agent of the Syrian government as part of an effort to collect information on people in this country protesting the Syrian government crack-down. I applaud the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who helped bring about this important case," Assistant Attorney General for National Security Lisa Monaco said.
Soueid, aka "Alex Soueid" aka "Anas Alswaid, was charged in October 2011 and found guilty in March of this year of "collecting video and audio recordings and other information about individuals in the United States and Syria who were protesting the government of Syria," according to an FBI press release.
He then provided this material to Syrian intelligence agencies "in order to silence, intimidate, and potentially harm the protestors."
"By illegally acting as an agent of Syria, Mr. Soueid deceived his adopted country of the United States in support of a violent and repressive despotic government," Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office James McJunkin said. "Through today's sentencing, he will now be held accountable for his actions."
According to court documents, Soueid supplied the information he gathered to Syrian intelligence sources, an illegal act since the Syrian government has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism since 1979.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI's Washington Field Office with assistance from the Loudon County, Virginia Sheriff's Office.
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