Stop killing journalists in cold blood: Wholesale violations by HTS against the media

Aya Ezz

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), one of the armed factions in northern Syria, continues to commit numerous violations against journalists and media workers in Idlib governorate, the latest of which was the assassination of journalist Hussein Khattab in the city of Al-Bab on Monday, December 14.

According to Syrian news sources, the journalist was killed by two masked men riding a motorcycle next to the Al-Bab cemetery while he was carrying out his duties. After his death, HTS announced in a statement that he had been killed by mistake.

Khattab’s killing led to dozens of journalists protesting against the crimes committed against them, and they launched a campaign called “Stop killing journalists in cold blood.”

Acts of beating and verbal humiliation were perpetrated by an armed group affiliated with HTS as well, the most recent of which was on Wednesday, June 10, against journalists covering the conduct of a joint Russian-Turkish patrol on the M4 international highway in the southern countryside of Idlib, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

HTS brought a group of women to the Jis Areeha area to throw stones at the patrol, and as the patrol passed, a group of armed men attacked the journalists and smashed their equipment, SANA reported, confirming that the attacked journalists were working with international agencies, including AFP and AP.

In its periodic report issued on Saturday, July 4, the Syrian Center for Press Freedom also documented 11 violations against the media in Syria during the month of June only, including the killing of two media professionals and the injury and beating of 20 others.

Constant threat

The Reporters Without Borders organization recently issued a statement condemning the continuous threats made by HTS members to journalists.

The statement emphasized that HTS threatens journalists with voice messages on mobile phones, in addition to the ongoing attacks while covering the daily events in the province.

After the statement by Reporters Without Borders, one of the leaders of the organization broadcast a voice message on Telegram, bearing death threats to every journalist who criticizes the terrorist organization, saying, “I swear by God, we will not leave a single media person on the face of Syria.”

Arbitrary arrests

In the same context, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that HTS deliberately arrested journalists for allegedly violating security barriers, and in fact it arrests them while performing their professional duty.

The Observatory stated that HTS detained nearly 30 journalists, but eventually released them after they spent nearly two months imprisoned and subjected to severe torture.