"I felt like the person who wanted me to get to this point in my career was no longer here. I felt there was no need to continue," said Alfred.

René opens the music box, and a tinkling music begins to play, the same song heard long ago in his Damascus sitting room.

In its glory days, the club had 1,000 members and a long waiting list, but over the decades, that figure dwindled to 300.

He then spoke about the dozens of long trips he made over the past few years to attend court hearings and accused a judge of harassment, seeking a bribe from him and mocking him.

"I said, 'Well, thanks for the heads up! How long have I got?'" says Geoffrey.