Security forces detained al-Khodr, local director for the official Syrian Arab News Agency in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, according to news reports. On the day of his arrest, al-Khodr had resigned from his post to protest “the regime’s human rights violations against civilians,” Agence France-Presse reported. At a demonstration that day, he wore a sign on his chest that read “I am a Syrian journalist” and a sticker on his mouth to signify the regime’s brutal repression.
The Syrian news agency has disputed reports of al-Khodr’s arrest and the circumstances of his resignation. Al-Khodr’s whereabouts, well-being, and legal status were unknown in late year.