U.S. citizen accused of spying for Syria

A Syrian-born U.S. citizen has been charged with sending Syrian intelligence agencies recordings of dissidents in the U.S. before and after meeting privately with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Mohamad Soueid, who appeared at his first federal court hearing in Alexandria, Va., on Wednesday, was working to “undermine, silence, intimidate and potentially harm” anti-regime protesters in the U.S., according to the indictment.

Soueid allegedly was reporting directly to Syrian intelligence officials and was also allegedly in close contact with the Syrian Embassy in Washington.

The embassy called the charges baseless.

“Neither Mr. Soueid nor any other citizen of the U.S. is an agent of the Syrian government,” the embassy said in a statement. “There has never ever been a private meeting between President Assad and Mr. Soueid. This ludicrous accusation is a reflection of the poor quality of the whole set of allegations.”

Soueid, 47, was arrested early Tuesday afternoon. At the hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa C. Buchanan read charges that he was working as an undocumented foreign agent, had lied to federal investigators, and had illegal possession of weaponry including a Beretta pistol and three boxes of ammunition. If convicted of all charges, Soueid faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“Spying for another country is a serious threat to our national security, especially when it threatens the ability of U.S. citizens to engage in political speech within our own borders,” U.S. Atty. Neil MacBride said at the hearing.

The charges add credence to an Amnesty International report released last week claiming that more than 30 activists in eight countries — Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Britain and the U.S. — had been monitored and harassed by Syrian spies.

“The Syrian government will not tolerate legitimate dissent and is prepared to go to great lengths to muzzle those who challenge it publicly,” the report said.

The indictment claims Soueid had been acting as an agent of Syrian intelligence since at least March, when uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt inspired anti-government protests in Syria. He allegedly recruited U.S. residents to collect recordings of protests against the Syrian regime.

The FBI says the Syrian government paid for Soueid to travel to Syria, where he met with intelligence agents and with Assad. After federal agents searched and questioned him upon his return at Dulles International Airport in the Washington, D.C., area, he reportedly told his boss that the airport encounter would not “stop the project.”

In a handwritten letter sent to his boss, identified only as an intelligence official in Syria, Soueid allegedly said that violence against protesters — including raiding their homes — was justified and that any method should be used to deal with them.

Soueid said at the hearing that he had not been able to contact his own lawyer yet, but Judge Buchanan said he would have a chance to do so before his detention hearing at the Eastern District Court of Virginia in Alexandria on Friday. The judge will then rule whether he should stay in local custody of U.S. marshals until a trial starts.

alexa.vaughn@latimes.com