Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling on the Syrian government to guarantee the safety of journalists and the right to information about the massacres on the Mediterranean coast, the NGO has revealed on its website.
The new Syrian government must protect journalists and guarantee the public’s right to reliable information. Attacks on the press deprive the public of this right and make them vulnerable to manipulation,” said the head of RSF’s Middle East delegation, Jonathan Dagher.
According to the organization, at least five journalists were shot and wounded while covering clashes between government forces and factions loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad.
“Accused of taking part in violence against civilians, the new administration has blamed ‘the remnants of the old regime’ for ‘systematic attacks on journalists’,” and the Ministry of Information has promised to take legal action to ‘guarantee the freedom of journalistic work and protect media professionals,’ says the NGO.
RSF also cites the example of an AL Jazeera reporter, Riyad al-Hussein, who was shot while in the passenger seat of a car with a colleague from the same media outlet, both wearing helmets and vests marked “Presse”.
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