The Syrian Journalists Association condemns both sides for persecuting journalists One-hundred-and-thirty-eight journalists have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it began in 2011, the Syrian Journalists Association (SJA) has revealed. The organisation also revealed that 11 media workers were killed by government forces in February alone.
In a statement to Arabstoday, the SJA condemned the arrest and assault of journalists, after widespread accounts of persecution.
The news follows the murder of Syrian journalist Mohammed Saeed al-Hamwi, who was killed last month during a government bombing campaign on the Qaboun neighbourhood in Damascus.
Another high profile case included that of French journalist Olivier Voison, who died from shrapnel injuries while covering the military operations of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
In addition, the SJA has accused the Syrian government of actively pursuing and torturing journalists.
According to the SJA, Ayham Mustafa Ghzool, a media assistant working in the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom, died after being tortured by the country’s Air Force Intelligence unit.
The country’s government forces are not the only ones guilty of persecuting media works, said the SRJ.
The SRJ found evidence of several cases involving the FSA detaining journalists for allegedly publishing false stories.
Last month, the FSA stormed the Aleppo Media Centre and arrested three employees for publishing a story about the alleged execution of a FSA supporter, who complained about a rebel bombing that killed members of his family.
Although the workers were eventually released, the FSA defended its actions, saying that it believed some media centres were “infiltrated by the regime” therefore it has the right to stop any false rumours being circulated.
The SJA condemned the incident and urged the FSA to remember that the “the real war is not with the media but with a regime that kills dozens of people every day.”