Rights group documents 559 journalists killed
Fadel Abdul Ghany, director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), told SANA on Monday that the network had documented the killing of 559 journalists and media workers by forces of the ousted regime between March 2011 and Syria’s liberation on December 8, 2024.
The victims included 48 journalists who died under torture in detention centers, while at least 1,612 others were injured during the same period, he said.
The network also recorded at least 1,358 cases of arrest or abduction involving media workers.
Abdul Ghany said 392 journalists detained by the deposed regime remain forcibly disappeared, including eight women. Four foreign journalists are also among those missing.
The SNHR also documented direct attacks on journalists, media offices and vehicles used by media workers.
Violations may amount to war crimes
Abdul Ghany said international humanitarian law protects journalists as civilians unless they directly participate in hostilities, citing Rule 34 of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s customary international humanitarian law study and UN Security Council Resolution 2222 of 2015.
He said deliberately attacking journalists could constitute a war crime when the relevant legal conditions are met.
Killings, torture and enforced disappearances carried out as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians could also amount to crimes against humanity, he added.
According to Abdul Ghany, the SNHR’s database has evolved from a record of violations into a body of criminal evidence that could help establish chains of command and identify military units and security branches responsible for abuses.
He said the evidence could support prosecutions before Syrian and international courts.
