Journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem arrested in Syria Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Wed, 12/24/2025 - 10:20 Former Middle East Eye contributor arrested after criticising Syrian transitional government Abdul Kareem, a contributor for MEE, is best known for his reporting from the final days of the battle in eastern Aleppo in 2016 (X) Off American journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem has been arrested in Syria following criticism of the country's new government. Abdul Kareem, a former Middle East Eye contributor who has lived in Syria since 2012, was detained in al-Bab in northern Aleppo province on Monday, according to sources speaking to Reuters. The Syrian government has yet to comment officially on the arrest. A former stand-up comedian who became a prominent figure among the Syrian opposition, Abdul Kareem had been increasingly critical of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa since he overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. He accused the former rebel leader of having moderated his Islamic principles too far in an attempt to appease the international community, and in August criticised the government's refusal to give Syrian citizenship to foreign opposition fighters. In the last video he posted on X, Abdul Kareem condemned Sharaa's decision to join the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group. Published a day after a suspected IS gunman killed two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter in eastern Syria, Abdul Kareem said the video "probably is going to get me in trouble". "The Americans have no legitimate reasons to be here," he said. "We simply cannot legitimise the presence of the enemy, and I said America is the enemy of the Syrian people." The journalist has previously produced reports for CNN, Channel 4, BBC, Sky News and the Dutch programme Nieuwsuur. In 2020, Abdul Kareem was arrested by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in northern Idlib province and held for six months for "inciting" against the rebel group. HTS, which was officially dissolved earlier this year, was led by Sharaa and was the main force involved in overthrowing Assad last year. Though Abdul Kareem previously had good relations with HTS, the group's view towards him soured after he criticised reports of torture in its detention centres. He has also accused the US of putting him on a "kill list" and attempting to assassinate him five times, but various legal challenges have so far failed to prove he was targeted. Inside Syria News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0