Kurdish Baptist Pastor Released After Two-Week Detention in Syria

Pastor Nihad Hassan, a Kurdish Baptist leader, was released on August 3 after being held in a Syrian prison for two weeks. Authorities in Afrin arrested Hassan on July 20 while he was visiting family, reportedly citing social media comments regarding Islam as the reason for his detention. He was held without official charges before being sent back to Beirut, Lebanon, where he has since reunited with his family and congregation.

Following his release, Wissam Nasrallah, president of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, stated that Hassan remained in good spirits and used his time in custody to share his faith. While welcoming the news of his release, advocacy groups such as CSW expressed concern over the use of arbitrary detention in the region and urged the Syrian government to uphold legal transparency. The incident occurs amid reports of increasing hostility toward Christians in Syria, a nation that rose to sixth on the 2025 Open Doors World Watch List for Christian persecution.