One of four Syrians suspected of having links to the Islamic State has a decade-long connection to Thailand and has appeared in commercials for ice-cream, yoghurt and a TV serie.
Not amused: Phatcharin Phirmokit with her 'terrorist' husband Hagop Kassabian.
Hagop Kassabian said he was surprised to be named in national media as one of the Syrians that Russia’s state security agency had warned could have links to the terrorist organisation.
Mr Kassabian said he was very happy living in Thailand, where he runs a small trading company from the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum. He is also an actor and has appeared nationwide in television commercials opposite stars such as James Jirayu Tangsrisuk and Urassaya “Yaya” Sperbund.
His wife is Thai and they have three young children. His eldest son is named Muang Thai, or Thailand. “It shows my love for Thailand,” he said.
He told the Bangkok Post Sunday he first learned he was a suspect on the morning of Dec 6, when his wife Phatcharin Phirmokit showed him a news item on her mobile phone.
“My wife woke me up and told me I was a terrorist. She said: ‘All these years and I didn’t know you are a terrorist.’ ”
Mr Kassabian said he was perplexed, and asked: “Darling, did you have a dream?”
“It’s in the news,” his wife told him. She then showed him what was on her mobile phone. “My picture was prominently displayed, along with three other guys, and I don’t have any idea who they are.”
Ms Phatcharin, who is in her late thirties, was told by her brother who lives in Dubai that news reports said Mr Kassabian was among four people suspected of being involved with the IS. The news report said Russian authorities had asked Thailand to hunt down the IS suspects, who were hiding in Thailand after overstaying their visas. “Then I thought I would become notorious overnight. News travels at the speed of light.
Innocent: Mr Kassabian in the wanted poster.
"Shortly afterwards, my friends all over the world contacted me and asked ‘when did you join IS?’ ”
During an interview with the Bangkok Post Sunday, Mr Kassabian said the allegations were wrong and he was not the type to be recruited by IS. The 57-year-old grew up in Lebanon from the age of one, after his father died — and his mother is Lebanese. But more importantly, he is Armenian Orthodox, a form of Christianity.
“IS does not recruit Christians. They kill Christians,” he said. “Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion in the fourth century after Christ.
“If these guys knew the background of the IS and me, they would not have even thought about putting out my photo [in the media],” said the businessman, who earned a master’s degree at the American University in Beirut.
“Whoever put my photo in the paper has not done their homework well.”
However, Thai police took the allegations seriously and a few days later senior officers were quoted in the international media, saying they had been warned by Moscow that 10 Syrians working for the IS had entered Thailand in October to target Russians.
After learning he was on the list of wanted Syrians, he decided he had to act. “I thought, what should we do now? If I go out, the police will catch me. The right thing to do is to call the police. So, we called the police and said we are here. There are some misunderstandings.” Police went to his home that evening and after a short conversation cleared Mr Kassabian of the allegation.
He has since asked a lawyer to find out why his photo was put on the list of suspects, and if he can take the person who implicated him to court.
“It is my responsibility to clear myself of the charge, to correct the bad, notorious reputation I have acquired,” he said.
The news caused panic where he lives with his family in the small community of Sompoi village, even though most people there know Mr Kassabian. His wife comes from the village of about 300 residents, and after being in Thailand for five years, the family moved there about one year ago.
Saisawad Khambao, the village head, said: “I was surprised. I have known him and his family for years. But some in the neighbourhood were concerned. Some believed what they read in the news.”
Asked if the villagers now know Mr Kassabian is innocent, Mrs Saisawad said: “Some have read the updated news that he is innocent. But I am not certain if all of them understand he is not a terrorist.”
Mr Kassabian married Ms Phatcharin 10 years ago. They met when he was a marketing manager at a Dubai-based multinational company. During that time he had to travel to Thailand frequently. After they married, they lived in Dubai, where their three children were born.
The couple came back to Bangkok five years ago and started their own company called Food Bangkok Co in his wife’s home province of Chaiyaphum. Food Bangkok exports products to the Middle East.
Many people in Thailand have seen Mr Kassabian in TV commercials.
In a television commercial for a yoghurt brand he played a Bulgarian, saying “confirm” to heartthrob actor Jirayu Tangsrisuk, who asked if the yoghurt was Bulgarian.
He also appeared with A-list actress Yaya in an ice-cream commercial on television. Earlier this year he appeared in a TV serie called Malee, or My Safari Girl in English.
Ms Phatcharin said she never doubted her husband. “I know it was a big misunderstanding. You can see he does not look like a terrorist.”
Mr Kassabian is short and plump and looks more like Santa Claus than a militant. He likes playing piano during his free time.
The misunderstanding may have come from his overstayed visa, which he said he simply forgot to renew two years ago. He has a non-B visa. His children all carry Thai passports.
“My overstay was two years ago due to the fact that the company I was working with did not inform me in due time to renew my visa.
"What does this fact have to do with terrorism?” he asked.
When asked what he thought of IS, Mr Kassabian said it was the “outcome of wrong calculations by superpowers which is what we have now in the Middle East”.
Although the authorities have cleared his name, Mr Kassabian said “the damage is already done”. The man once known for his television commercials is now called “IS Sompoi”.
“When I picked up my boys from school, people stared at me and said, ‘This is the guy. Don’t approach. Do you plan to do any bombing? There is a terrorist in the village. What should we do?’ ”
Mr Kassabian said he did not find it amusing. “But I will let them have their fun. I am a kind-hearted person.”
Food for thought: Left, Mr Kassabian in the Scotch Bird's Nest commercial. Right, with Jirayu Tangsrisuk promoting a yoghurt brand.
