Syrian refugee working as a spy for the Syrian regime arrested in Netherlands

ZOETERMEER, The Netherlands — Dutch authorities have arrested a Syrian refugee accused of working as a spy for the Syrian regime. The suspect, Anas Seif el-Din, lives in the Dutch city of Zoetermeer.

Dutch news outlet The Telegraph stated that the reason for the refugee’s arrest was his spying on Syrians opposed to the Assad regime living in the Netherlands and sending information about them to the Syrian intelligence service. The Telegraph indicated that the arrest came after a number of Syrian refugees filed complaints against him on charges of spying and writing reports on activists in the Netherlands, as well as threatening refugees.

The website Zaman al-Wasl revealed that the suspected spy visited Syria three times in the last two years. During his visits, he reportedly met with several officials, including Director General of the General Recruitment Directorate at the Ministry of Defense Major General Samir Hajal, Director of the Immigration and Passports Department in the Ministry of Interior Major General Naji al-Namir, Director of the Martyrs’ Affairs Office in the Ministry of Defense Major General Nibal Badr, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bashar Al-Jaafari. All of the visits were documented by photographs.