Duraid Lahham’s family deny citizenship claims

The family of Duraid Lahham, the highly respected Syrian actor, is denying gossip surrounding the star’s intention to renounce his Syrian citizenship, should President Bashar al-Assad’s regime fall. A widely circulated statement was issued on Facebook by Lahham’s family which condemned the rumours, describing them as false and politicised. According to Sayidaty.net the statement said: “We, the family of Duraid Lahham, verify that the rumour is completely untrue, and stress that our verifying that the rumour untrue is not a political stance, but rather to stress the love for our roots and country. We are confident that there is a conspiracy against Duraid Lahham and his family.” It is unclear why the rumours were started, but reports surfaced after Lahham was interviewed on the Arab satellite channel Al Manar. The star has been the target of rumours since the beginning of the uprising over two years ago. The actor’s family currently reside in Lebanon after leaving Syria to escape the ongoing violence. They continue to urge fellow Syrians to dismiss the claims as false, adding that they should all unite to end the bloodshed. Despite the risks, Lahman is currently in Syria filming for the upcoming television drama San’oud Ba’id Qalil (We Will Return Shortly).