Published : 06-05-2018
On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, AGPS said it documented the death and arrest of dozens of Palestinian journalists for participating in sharing the truth of the camps and Palestinian gatherings.
The Action Group noted that the “Palestinian Press” inside the camps amid the Syrian revolution, was not the outcome of academic expertise and specialization, but was the result of the general need imposed by the absence of indigenous media cadres, due to displacement, asylum, neutrality or association with the regime, who worked early on limiting this type of university specialization to a certain category of the Syrian people, until the 90s of last century, and the imposition of control and follow-up on media representatives, in an attempt to hide the truth and presenting its account of what is happening inside Syria.
Regarding the Palestinian media staff in Syria, the Action Group documented the death of 17 victims with different competencies; academics or volunteers, who have often combined more than one job at times; development-relief-media. They died in different areas across Syria during their press coverage to the ongoing events, since March 2011 and until December 2016.
The numbers of the ground however seem to be much bigger, given the circumstances surrounding the arrest, declaration of death or the difficulty of access to official records, as well as the responsibilities that lie on the victims' families consequently.
The Action Group added that 9 of the victims died during the bombardments of the Syrian regime, 4 died under torture and 4 others died as a result of the sniper shots and fighting.
They are: Photographer “Fady Abu Ajaj,” photographer “Jamal Khalifa,” media and relief activist “Ahmed El-Sahly,” media activist and photographer “Bassam Al-Homaydi,” photographer, “Ahmed Taha” and media activist and photographer “Belal Saeed,” died during the bombardment of Yarmouk camp in Damascus.
Photographer “Jihad Shehaby,” died during the bombardment of the town of Hejira in the south of Damascus, media activist “Yamen Zaher,” died as a result of the bombardment of Khan Al-Sheih camp and journalist “Tariq Ziyad Khedr,” who was killed in Deraa camp in the south of Syria.
The Group indicated the death of 4 media activists due to torture in the Syrian regime’s prisons: “Khaled Bakrawy,” artist “Hassan Hassan,” activist “Alaa Al-Najy, residents of Yarmouk, and “Belel Ahmed,” from the town of Muadamiyat Al-Sham.
The victims of the fighting and sniper shots are: media personnel and photographer “Eyas Farahat,” who was the first martyr in Yarmouk camp, where he died while carrying his camera to cover a protest that went out in the camp, to condemn the killing of 14 soldiers from the ranks of the Palestinian Liberation Army, in the Syrian north.
Media activist and director of the tree center documenting the Palestinian memory, “Ghassan Shehaby,” who was assassinated with a sniper shot by the Syrian regime while driving his car in Yarmouk camp, and media activists, “Ahmed Kosa” and “Moneer Al-Khatib” were shot by snipers of the Syrian regime in Yarmouk camp.
The Group added that many media activists, journalists and writers were placed under arrest in the prisons of the Syrian regime, without knowing their fate, including journalist “Mohanad Omar,” and writer “Aly Al-Shehaby.”
It is worth mentioning that the cases of targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists have not witnessed any official Palestinian interaction or serious claims of bringing the perpetrators to justice on charges of murder and torture of those civilians who were carried their cameras or mobile phones as past weapons, to reflect the reality on the ground as it is without increasing or decreasing.
On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, AGPS said it documented the death and arrest of dozens of Palestinian journalists for participating in sharing the truth of the camps and Palestinian gatherings.
The Action Group noted that the “Palestinian Press” inside the camps amid the Syrian revolution, was not the outcome of academic expertise and specialization, but was the result of the general need imposed by the absence of indigenous media cadres, due to displacement, asylum, neutrality or association with the regime, who worked early on limiting this type of university specialization to a certain category of the Syrian people, until the 90s of last century, and the imposition of control and follow-up on media representatives, in an attempt to hide the truth and presenting its account of what is happening inside Syria.
Regarding the Palestinian media staff in Syria, the Action Group documented the death of 17 victims with different competencies; academics or volunteers, who have often combined more than one job at times; development-relief-media. They died in different areas across Syria during their press coverage to the ongoing events, since March 2011 and until December 2016.
The numbers of the ground however seem to be much bigger, given the circumstances surrounding the arrest, declaration of death or the difficulty of access to official records, as well as the responsibilities that lie on the victims' families consequently.
The Action Group added that 9 of the victims died during the bombardments of the Syrian regime, 4 died under torture and 4 others died as a result of the sniper shots and fighting.
They are: Photographer “Fady Abu Ajaj,” photographer “Jamal Khalifa,” media and relief activist “Ahmed El-Sahly,” media activist and photographer “Bassam Al-Homaydi,” photographer, “Ahmed Taha” and media activist and photographer “Belal Saeed,” died during the bombardment of Yarmouk camp in Damascus.
Photographer “Jihad Shehaby,” died during the bombardment of the town of Hejira in the south of Damascus, media activist “Yamen Zaher,” died as a result of the bombardment of Khan Al-Sheih camp and journalist “Tariq Ziyad Khedr,” who was killed in Deraa camp in the south of Syria.
The Group indicated the death of 4 media activists due to torture in the Syrian regime’s prisons: “Khaled Bakrawy,” artist “Hassan Hassan,” activist “Alaa Al-Najy, residents of Yarmouk, and “Belel Ahmed,” from the town of Muadamiyat Al-Sham.
The victims of the fighting and sniper shots are: media personnel and photographer “Eyas Farahat,” who was the first martyr in Yarmouk camp, where he died while carrying his camera to cover a protest that went out in the camp, to condemn the killing of 14 soldiers from the ranks of the Palestinian Liberation Army, in the Syrian north.
Media activist and director of the tree center documenting the Palestinian memory, “Ghassan Shehaby,” who was assassinated with a sniper shot by the Syrian regime while driving his car in Yarmouk camp, and media activists, “Ahmed Kosa” and “Moneer Al-Khatib” were shot by snipers of the Syrian regime in Yarmouk camp.
The Group added that many media activists, journalists and writers were placed under arrest in the prisons of the Syrian regime, without knowing their fate, including journalist “Mohanad Omar,” and writer “Aly Al-Shehaby.”
It is worth mentioning that the cases of targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists have not witnessed any official Palestinian interaction or serious claims of bringing the perpetrators to justice on charges of murder and torture of those civilians who were carried their cameras or mobile phones as past weapons, to reflect the reality on the ground as it is without increasing or decreasing.
