The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed news that a Turkish cameraman held in Syria for three months has been freed, but called for the release of the man’s colleague and two other journalists believed to be held in the country.
Turkish daily Hürriyet reported that Cüneyt Ünal, a cameraman with the U.S.-funded Arabic-language satellite station Al Hurra, was freed from a Syrian prison and returned to Turkey on Saturday. However, there was no word on the fate of Al Hurra correspondent Bashar Fahmi, a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian origin who disappeared with Ünal on Aug. 20 in Aleppo.
The pair was travelling with anti-regime forces when they were caught in fighting that killed Japanese reporter Mika Yamamoto. Two other journalists, freelance American reporter Austin Tice and Ukrainian correspondent Ankhar Kochneva, also remain missing and are currently believed to be held in Syria.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported on Nov. 6 that “reliable sources” said Fahmi was “alive and in good health” despite having been wounded in the shoulder and hospitalised in Damascus. The group noted that its information contradicted a previous government statement denying that the regime was holding Fahmi.
Hürriyet reported yesterday that Fahmi was seriously injured in the fighting on Aug. 20 and that Ünal recounted having “carried his injured colleague into an apartment building where some Aleppo residents tended to his wound”. Ünal said he was captured and handed over to government forces when he left the building to seek further help for Fahmi.
IPI’s Turkish National Committee said yesterday: “While we are happy that Ünal, with whom we stand squarely because he is a journalist, [has been released], our deep concern remains for his Jordanian colleague, Bashar Fahmi Al-Kadumi. We ask Syrian authorities to publicly provide information on Al-Kadumi’s situation, reminding them that his physical security is Damascus’ responsibility. Once again, we ask all warring factions and those institutions and bodies existing on different points of the political spectrum not to practice politics at the expense of the freedom of journalists.”
Michael Meehan, a member of the board of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees Al Hurra, and chairman of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. said on Saturday that his organisation was “relieved that Cüneyt will be reunited safely with his family”. However, he added: “The lack of information on Bashar Fahmi is profoundly troubling.”
Tice, a former U.S. Marine, disappeared on Aug.13 and the Czech Republic’s ambassador to Syria said later that month that government forces detained Tice on the outskirts of Damascus. Last month a video surfaced online showing the journalist being held by apparent armed Islamic fundamentalists, but many experts said they thought the video might have been staged.
Tice’s parents recently travelled to Lebanon in hopes of obtaining more information about his status. They said in a press conference last week that they had no new information and that Syrian government officials had denied having any knowledge of their son’s whereabouts.
Kochneva – who reportedly worked as a correspondent for the Utro.ru news outlet and cooperated with other Russian media, including Russia Today and NTV – went missing around Oct. 9. Colleagues and relatives said they believed she might have been kidnapped near Homs. The Kyiv Post reported on Nov. 8 that a video featuring Kochneva was “uploaded on the Youtube Channel of the Syrian armed opposition” in which she begged the embassies of Ukraine and Russia, and Syrian authorities, to meet her captor’s demands.
The details of those demands have not been released. The Interfax-Ukraine News Agency reported last week that a spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry said that negotiations for Kochneva’s release are continuing, but that the spokesperson declined to disclose details in order to protect Kochneva’s safety.
