Syria Today | Syrian-Austrian arrested by security services

Syrian-Austrian arrested by security services

Syrian authorities arrested a Syrian-Austrian citizen at Damascus airport last month over claims he had been in touch with a Syrian dissident, a human rights group said on September 9.

The National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria (NOHRS) said Mithal Muhanna, 51, was arrested shortly before boarding a plane to return to Austria on August 18 after spending his holidays in Syria.

Muhanna, who comes from the central district of Hama in Syria, was granted Austrian citizenship 30 years ago.

A statement from NOHRS said Syrian security services accuse Muhanna of being in contact with dissident Syrian diplomat Mohammad Louai al-Hamwi who used to work at the Syrian embassy in Austria before he defected last July. Hamwi has since joined a Syrian opposition party based in Germany.