Syria Archives - Committee to Protect Journalists

Flowers cover the coffin of Mexican journalist Jorge Celestino Ruiz Vazquez, who was killed in Veracruz in August. Ruiz is one of at least five journalists murdered in retaliation for their work in Mexico in 2019. (Reuters/Oscar Martinez)

Number of journalists killed falls sharply as reprisal murders hit record low

December 17, 2019 11:59 AM EST

As wars subsided and a record low number of journalists were murdered in reprisal for reporting, the total number of journalists killed because of their work fell sharply in 2019. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

Travelers are seen at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia on February 15, 2016. Syrian Kurdish journalist Himbervan Kousa was recently arrested at the airport. (Reuters/Lai Seng Sin)

Syrian Kurdish journalist Himbervan Kousa arrested at Kuala Lumpur airport

December 10, 2019 11:20 AM EST

Beirut, December 10, 2019 — Malaysian authorities should disclose their reasons for holding Syrian Kurdish journalist Himbervan Kousa or release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter stands in a street in the border town of Tal Abyad, in Syria, on October 27, 2019. Military action in Syria has increased risks for journalists. (Reuters/Khalil Ashawi)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering Rojava and northern Syria

November 14, 2019 4:44 PM EST

Following Turkey’s military incursion into northern Syria in October, dozens of local and international journalists have reported on developments from the region. The military action has increased risks for journalists, with at least three killed during Turkish airstrikes last month, according to CPJ research.

Residents and a rescue worker carry the body of a man killed in an airstrike in Kfar Rumah, in Syria's Idlib province, on November 10, 2019. A journalist for the Kafr Rumah Media Office was killed during shelling in the town. (AFP/Abdulaziz Ketaz)

Syrian photojournalist al-Yousef killed as forces shell southern Idlib

November 11, 2019 12:42 PM EST

Beirut, November 11, 2019—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the killing of Syrian journalist Abdul Hameed al-Yousef and urged all sides in the Syrian conflict to guarantee the safety of civilians, including journalists.

Getting Away with Murder

October 29, 2019 8:00 AM EDT

CPJ’s 2019 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free Published October 29, 2019 Somalia is the world’s worst country for the fifth year in a row when it comes to prosecuting murderers of journalists, CPJ’s 2019 Global Impunity Index found. War and political instability have fostered a deadly…

An explosion is seen over the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain on October 12, 2019. Turkish airstrikes near Ras al-Ain recently killed two journalists. (Reuters/Stoyan Nenov)

Second Syrian Kurdish journalist dies of wounds sustained in Turkish air strike

October 15, 2019 2:20 PM EDT

Beirut, October 15, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today strongly condemned the Turkish air strike on a civilian convoy, as reports emerged that a second journalist died yesterday as a result of the attack.

Smoke is seen billowing from the sites of air strikes in Ras al-Ayn, Syria, on October 13, 2019. Syrian Kurdish journalist Saad Ahmed was killed in an airstrike in the town. (AP/Emrah Gurel)

Syrian Kurdish journalist killed in Turkish airstrike on civilian convoy

October 13, 2019 6:15 PM EDT

Beirut, October 13, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the Turkish air strike on a civilian convoy that killed journalist Saad Ahmed and injured at least four other reporters.

Fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are seen on the border between Hama and Idlib provinces, in Syria, on July 11, 2019. Militants from the group recently abducted journalist Ahmed Rahal in Idlib. (AFP/Omar Haj Kadour)

Syrian reporter Ahmed Rahal abducted by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant group in Idlib

September 12, 2019 12:41 PM EDT

Beirut, September 12, 2019 — The militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham should immediately release Syrian reporter Ahmed Rahal and stop detaining journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants are seen in outside the villages of al-Foua and Kefraya, Syria, on July 18, 2018. Militants from the group recently detained journalist Jumaa Haj Hamdou. (RT/Khalil Ashawi)

Militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham detains Syrian reporter Jumaa Haj Hamdou in Aleppo

August 1, 2019 12:53 PM EDT

In the afternoon of July 24, 2019, at least 10 members of the Al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham detained Jumaa Haj Hamdou, a reporter for the Syrian pro-civil rights opposition news website Zaman al-Wasl, at his home in Abian, a village in western Aleppo governorate under control of the militant group, according to the France-based…

Soldiers are seen in Deraa, Syria, on July 7, 2018. Journalist Alaa Nayef al-Khader al-Khalidi died in a Syrian military prison, his family was recently told. (Reuters/Omar Sanadiki)

Syrian journalist Alaa Nayef al-Khader al-Khalidi died under state torture, official tells family

July 22, 2019 1:15 PM EDT

Beirut, July 22, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Syrian authorities to immediately account for all journalists who they have arrested during the years-long civil war, including those who have died in state custody. Most recently, the family of Alaa Nayef al-Khader al-Khalidi say they learned that the freelance photojournalist allegedly…