hamidi went on to cover the death of syrian president hafez al-assad and the subsequent inauguration of his son bashar al-assad as president. his coverage of the following period, known as the damascus spring, and his interviews with syrian opposition figures earned him the reprimand of the syrian government and his journalist credentials were suspended several times. in 2002 he reported on syria's preparations for the iraq war. the government accused him of spreading "false information" and he was arrested on 23 december 2002. he remained in solitary confinement until 25 may 2003 and was later acquitted in court in 2005.