TURKEY/FILE: Turkish media calls on Syrian regime to release journalists held in Syria

Record ID: 281395

  • Title: TURKEY/FILE: Turkish media calls on Syrian regime to release journalists held in Syria
  • Date: 22nd September 2012
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (AUGUST 27, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS BADGES AND PRESS CARDS BELONGING TO TURKISH CAMERAMAN CUNEYT UNAL
  • Embargoed: 7th October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Business,Communications,Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6BXM80DXMVW5W7NHA5FZ9BZVD
  • Story Text: Turkish television channels aired a joint message on Friday (September 21) calling for the release of Turkish cameraman Cuneyt Unal and Palestinian reporter Bashar Fahmi al-Kadumi who were seized by Syrian soldiers in northern Aleppo in August.
    A still photograph of the two journalists appeared on seventeen national channels at 0803 am (0503 GMT) on Friday morning and presenters called on the Syrian government to release Unal and Fahmi as soon as possible.
    Editor in Chief of TRT Turk, Umit Sezgin, said the two men were captured while they were performing their duty as journalists and should not be treated as soldiers.
    "They are journalists. They are a cameraman and a reporter. They were captured while they were on duty. We told them this several times, we staged protests and this morning we reiterated that again with other numerous Turkish television stations. Those two men are journalists and they deserve to be treated as journalists. They are not soldiers. You cannot take them as hostages,'' Sezgin said.
    Unal crossed into Syria on August 20 with his Jordanian colleague Bashar Fahmi and two Japanese journalists working for Japanese media, one of whom, Mika Yamamoto, was killed in Aleppo a day later by pro-Assad militiamen.
    Unal has appeared on a pro-government Syrian television channel, saying in an interview that he had been seized by Syrian soldiers in the northern city of Aleppo. In the video he describes his journey from the Turkish border to Aleppo with rebels who are fighting troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
    Fahmi, who has also not been heard from since last week, and was reportedly wounded in Syria, did not appear in the video.
    Unal and Fahmi's capture and the killings of at least 17 journalists in Syria since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, underscores the hostile environment in which reporters operate to cover the ongoing conflict.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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