B.C. man says he used Facebook to express concerns, not to support terrorists
VANCOUVER — A British Columbia man accused of using his Facebook account to express support of “lone wolf” terrorists in the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant says he was on social media to “shine a light” on atrocities in the Middle East.
Othman Hamdan testified in B.C. Supreme Court Wednesday that his posts highlighted government clashes against citizens during the Arab Spring that started in Tunisia in late 2010 and spread to Syria and elsewhere.
Hamdan, 36, told his trial that mainstream media did not initially report people’s suffering, especially in Syria, where president Bashar Assad’s forces “squashed” people trying to hold peaceful protests, resulting in a wave of refugees leaving the region.
Hamdan said he began posting comments on his Facebook profile and created some pages based initially on what he saw on social media, which played a big role in the series of demonstrations that swept through the Arab world.