British Syrian activist Hassan Akkad detained in Damascus despite withdrawn complaint

British Syrian activist Hassan Akkad was detained by security forces in Damascus on Wednesday at about 9:45pm local time while at a cafe in the al-Malki neighbourhood. Five plainclothes officers entered the coffee shop where Akkad was meeting with several journalists.

The officers first asked for his mobile phone and then told him he was under arrest, according to witness accounts cited by his campaign.

Akkad is the founder of the Give Us the Money That You Owe! campaign, which tracks financial pledges made for Syria's reconstruction after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. He had criticised Syrian journalist and presenter Mousa al-Omar on social media in recent weeks for allegedly failing to deliver on donations he said were worth thousands of dollars.

The detention appears to be connected to a legal complaint filed by al-Omar. Akkad had been summoned by the cybersecurity branch on June 4. He later learned that additional cases had been filed against him, though he was not told the identities of the other complainants.

Public Prosecutor Judge Hossam Khattab confirmed that a search warrant had been issued for Akkad but stated that the case against him had been dropped. Al-Omar told Al Jazeera that he instructed his lawyer to inform police he had withdrawn the complaint and said he was "saddened" by what had happened.

"I am sorry for what happened to Hassan as a result of his mistakes; I followed the legal path under the cybercrime law… Everything I pledged, amounting to $700,000 in projects and cash, was paid in the donations," al-Omar said.

Akkad paused his online activities related to the case after the summons to allow the investigation to proceed. Al Jazeera reached out to the Syrian government for comment but has not received a response. Akkad's lawyers said no legal basis for the arrest was presented at the time of detention.