GAZIANTEP, Turkey — Louay Hussein is a Syrian pro-opposition politician who was arrested by the Syrian regime several times, beginning when he was a university student. He was banned from traveling and prevented from obtaining a passport under the rule of President Hafez al-Assad as well as under his son, Bashar.

With the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, with a group of other young Syrians, Hussein founded the Building the Syrian State movement in September 2011, denouncing the current Syrian regime as authoritarian. The movement defines itself as a political organization with a futurist vision for Syria. Its involvement in the current conflict has aimed to advance patriotism.

Hussein left Syria through Turkey for Spain after he was released from detention in Damascus. He had been detained on several charges including "weakening national sentiment." Hussein has long been a controversial figure, as his orientations differ from those of most of the Syrian revolution’s activists and actors, and he has been criticizing the opposition’s performance. He is against militarization and extremism, and has been accused by Syrian activists of holding ideas and positions close to those of the Syrian regime.

His full interview with Al-Monitor follows: