On July 8, 2026, Israeli authorities released Syrian journalist Bassam al-Safadi, a correspondent for the Arabic-language Iran-affiliated television channel Al-Alam, after detaining him in the occupied Golan Heights on November 19, 2024 and holding him under consecutive administrative detention orders, the journalist and his lawyer told CPJ.
Al-Safadi, a resident of the occupied Syrian territory, was held in Ayalon prison inside Israel for the duration of his detention.
Speaking to CPJ after his release, he said his first administrative detention order was issued on December 3, 2024 for a period of six months. Authorities renewed the order on May 8, 2025 for another six months, then issued an additional renewal on November 9, 2025 for a further six months, and, most recently, for an additional two months.
Authorities questions focused on Al-Safadi about his journalistic work for Al-Alam. Officials asked about his filming in the occupied Golan and his transfer of images and video footage to a person working for the channel. Israeli authorities argued that transmitting this material went beyond legitimate journalistic activity, alleging it constituted the collection of information for the benefit of entities associated with Iran and Syria.
Al-Safadi was never brought to criminal trial, no charge was filed against him, and he remained in detention on administrative detention orders.
Al-Safadi was previously detained by Israeli authorities on June 1, 2016 over posts he published on Facebook, which authorities suspected of constituting incitement to violence or support for a banned organization. On June 5, 2016, he was released and placed under house arrest for five days.
CPJ emailed the Israeli Prison Services for comment on the detention of Al-Safadi but did not receive a reply at the time of publication.