ALEXANDRIA, Virginia: The lawyer for a man accused of acting as a Syrian spy said Monday that his client’s recent travel to that country was part of a fact-finding mission led by a U.S. congressman, not part of an espionage conspiracy.

The congressman, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, denies knowing the man.A judge held a detention hearing Monday for Mohamad Soueid, 47, after he was arrested last week and accused of spying on Syrian expatriates in the U.S. on behalf of President Bashar Assad. Activists say Soueid’s alleged surveillance of anti-Assad protesters in the U.S. is part of a pattern of intimidation by the Syrian government.

Soueid’s lawyer, Haytham Faraj, said Monday that prosecutors are twisting facts. The indictment against Soueid, for instance, accuses him of traveling to Syria this summer and meeting personally with Assad. But Faraj said Soueid was a legitimate member of Kucinich’s delegation, who made the trip “to speak to Mr. Assad about the negative consequences of the Syrian government’s actions.”

Kucinich’s office released a statement Monday saying that Soueid was not a member of the delegation.

“He was not part of our delegation. I do not know who he is. Whoever he is, it sounds like he has a serious problem with the truth. If in fact, he has spied upon U.S. citizens on behalf of the Syrian government, that will have immediate consequences for the Assad regime,” the statement said.

Last week, the Syrian government denied that Soueid was a Syrian agent and said there “has never ever been a private meeting between President Assad and Mr. Soueid.”

As part of its evidence Monday, prosecutors introduced a photo showing Soueid and Assad shaking hands, which they say was taken on Soueid’s trip to Syria.