Freedom House Calls On Syrian Government To Release Captured Alhurra Journalists
Freedom House is deeply concerned for the safety of Alhurra journalists, Bashar Fahmi and Cuneyt Unal, who went missing yesterday while reporting from Aleppo, Syria and are thought to have been captured by Syrian authorities. Freedom House joins Alhurra and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) in calling for the immediate release of the two journalists.
After the men lost contact with Alhurra headquarters, the Free Syrian Army released a YouTube video alleging that the journalists had been detained by Syrian authorities. The disappearance of Fahmi and Unal coincides with the death of journalist Mika Yamamoto of Japan Press, with whom they were traveling. Yamamoto was reportedly shot by Syrian troops.
Syria is considered by Freedom House to be one of the world’s worst human rights abusers and is ranked 189th in its global Freedom of the Press 2012 index. According to Reporters Without Borders, as many as 30 Syrian journalists and citizen-journalists have been killed since the war began.
Learn more: