LONDON: In a sold-out hall at the Frontline Club, a renowned establishment in London for journalists and media professionals, Arab News on Monday held a public screening of its latest documentary, “Abu Hilalain: Inside the Kingdom’s Crackdown on Captagon.”
An investigative documentary packed with compelling information and evidence, it provided British and Arab journalists, industry professionals and members of the public with an insight into a drug that has fueled the civil war in Syria, and Saudi Arabia’s unyielding fight against it at home and abroad.
“As this is our second screening in London, and given the huge interest in the topic, we have two announcements to make: First, we have decided to continue promoting and screening this film. And second, Arab News will definitely be producing more documentaries in the near future,” said Editor-in-Chief of Arab News Faisal J. Abbas.
Similar screenings will take place in cities around the world, with dates to be announced in advance via the newspaper, he added.
Commissioned by Arab News, the documentary sheds light on the efforts by Saudi authorities to combat the production, trade and use of the dangerous amphetamine.
“Abu Hilalain,” which in Arabic means “father of the two crescent moons,” is a street name for Captagon, adopted as the yellow pills are typically embossed with two crescents.
The screening on Monday was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, which will continue to support Arab News in its quest to expose the illicit trade in the drug to the world, and contribute to efforts to protect society from its scourge.
The council “is delighted to be working with Arab News to draw attention to the Captagon trade,” said Doyle, adding that “the challenge of Captagon is vital to address. It will not remain a Middle East issue for long and political leaders elsewhere need to act now.”
The panel of experts included renowned Saudi analyst Salman Al-Ansari; Caroline Rose, director of the Strategic Blind Spots Portfolio at the New Lines Institute; Nadia Alfaour, the Arab News undercover reporter who worked on the investigation; and Tarek Ali Ahmad, head of the Research and Studies Unit at Arab News, which investigated the Captagon trade and commissioned the documentary.
“I am excited to have participated in this event premiering the documentary and the following expert panel,” said Rose.
“This is an important deep dive into how the trade has impacted the region, particularly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
She added that she hopes to continue “to provide insights into the trade’s geopolitical significance, continuing geographic expansion, and implicated actors in Syria, Lebanon and the region.”
Al-Ansari, who spoke about “the overall political and security climate in the Middle East and how drugs smuggling is a serious challenge in the region,” said: “I am very pleased to see how Arab News is contributing to raising awareness about the overall danger of drugs — and particularly Captagon in Saudi Arabia.”
Other guests at the event included several distinguished media personalities.
The film, the product of a 14-month investigation by the Arab News Research and Studies Unit, takes viewers on a journey through the intricate web of the Captagon trade, its geopolitical implications and, most importantly, its effects on victims and their families.
Captagon, the trade name for a drug called fenethylline, was developed in Germany in 1961 as a medicinal solution for a number of conditions, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, in children.
Its illegal use has evolved into a contentious regional issue, closely tied to the ongoing debate over the potential reinstatement of Syrian President Bashar Assad into the Arab League after a 12-year hiatus. Now a $57-billion industry, the Captagon trade is no longer a problem limited to the Arab region as it is quickly infecting Europe as well.
The Arab News team ventured into shadowy underworlds in Beirut, Jeddah, Makkah and Syria’s northeastern Kurdish region where they interviewed smugglers, dealers and addicts to unravel a complex international network and the dark figures behind Captagon trafficking.
Buoyed by the success of the documentary team’s investigations and its profound impact on the community, Abbas announced the establishment of a new Arab News documentary unit, which will be dedicated to extending the reach of the newspaper’s investigative reports and analysis.
“Abu Hilalain: Inside the Kingdom’s Crackdown on Captagon” is now available to watch online on the Arab News website and its YouTube channel.
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