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Outlook: Protests, prison and the day I met Assad

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Composite with Hassan Akkad and an anti-Assad protest sign

06/10/2021 GMT

Protests, prison and the day I met Assad

BBC World Service - Outlook, Protests, prison and the day I met Assad

Hassan Akkad is a Syrian filmmaker who risked his life documenting the uprising

Hassan Akkad is a Syrian filmmaker who was imprisoned twice for documenting anti government protests

When anti-government protests started in Syria in 2011, amateur filmmaker Hassan Akkad decided to document the violence. It was dangerous work, and the regime was violently clamping down on the uprising. After 6 months of protesting, Hassan's luck ran out, and he was arrested and detained. He claims he was tortured in prison. Then, after his release, he received an extraordinary offer. Hassan was invited to meet Syria's autocratic President Bashar al Assad. 

Hassan spoke to Outlook's Sahar Zand.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Picture: Composite with Hassan Akkad and an anti-Assad protest sign
Credit: (left to right) Manuel Vazquez, Jay Shaw Baker/NurPhoto via Getty Images, Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images

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