Detention hearing set for Syrian-born American in spying case

Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against the Syrian government in front of the White House in July.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Syrian Embassy denies the allegations
• The man could face a maximum of 40 years in jail
• The charges come amid Syria's tough crackdown on protesters

Washington (CNN) -- A detention hearing has been set for Friday for a Syrian-born naturalized American accused of spying on Syrian protesters in the United States.
Federal prosecutors in Virginia will ask that Mohamad Anas Heitham Soueid, 47, continue to be held, saying he is a flight risk.
Soueid, of Leesburg, Virginia, was charged October 5 with conspiring to collect video and audio recordings and other information about people "in the United States and Syria who were protesting the government of Syria and to provide these materials to Syrian intelligence agencies in order to silence, intimidate and potentially harm the protestors," the Justice Department said Wednesday.
The Syrian Embassy in Washington responded Wednesday by denying the allegations, saying Soueid never worked for the Syrian government to spy on protesters.
Soueid was arrested Tuesday after a federal grand jury charged him in a six-count indictment.
He is charged with conspiring to act and acting as an agent of the Syrian government in the United States without notifying the attorney general as required by law; two counts of providing false statements on a firearms purchase form; and two counts of providing false statements to federal law enforcement, the Justice Department said.
This comes amid Syria's seven-month-long crackdown against protesters.
"Today's indictment alleges that the defendant 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 crackdown. I applaud the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who helped bring about today's case," said Lisa Monaco, assistant attorney general for national security.
The indictment says Soueid has been an agent of the Syrian Mukhabarat, a reference to Syrian intelligence agencies.
"At no time while acting as an agent of the government of Syria in this country did Soueid provide prior notification to the Attorney General as required by law, the indictment alleges," the Justice Department said.