NewsGuild-CWA condemns the recent assaults in the Mideast on journalists: one by Israeli soldiers on two Reuters cameramen who report being struck by rifle butts, forced to strip and attacked with tear gas in Hebron last week; and the other the kidnapping in Syria of NBC News correspondent and his four-person crew in Syria, who were threatened with death before they escaped after five days of captivity.
In the case of the Reuters cameramen, the two were in a car clearly marked as a TV news vehicle, and both men were wearing flak jackets with “Press” on the front. They report being pulled out of their car, roughed up and tear gassed near a checkpoint where a Palestinian teenager had been shot by an Israeli border guard.
The kidnapped NBC journalists included correspondent Richard Engel, producer Ghazi Balkis, cameraman John Kooistra and two crew members who were driving. Engel said his captors were part of a government militia known as Shabiha. Their captors told them to choose who should be killed first, and when they refused, they were subject to mock shootings.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports 15 journalists have been abducted in Syria in 2012. The International Federation of Journalists reports abductions in Syria are being perpetrated by all sides often for financial gain. American, Russian, Syrian and Palestinian journalists are still being held.
“We demand immediate action to address this reprehensible assault on Yousri al-Jamal and Mamoun Wazwaz and the kidnapping of the NBC journalists,” the Guild’s Executive Council said in a joint statement. “While we welcome the news that the Israel Defense Forces are looking into the allegations, an investigation by itself is not enough. The unconscionable actions in both Israel and Syria must have swift and serious consequences.
“The pain and humiliation that all these journalists suffered were more than personal attacks. They were intended to send a chilling message to all journalists daring to do their jobs in one of the world’s most volatile hot spots.
“Their assailants must be punished, and another message must be clear: The IDF and the Guild will not tolerate any attacks on journalists.”