The Assad regime came at the top of the list of those responsible for the death of journalists in 2019, with the Russian forces coming second on the list, according a report by the Syrian Center for Journalistic Freedoms of the Association of Syrian Journalists. The report, which was issued Saturday, tracked the violations against media workers in Syria in the first half of 2019.
The report listed 46 violations that were committed against media workers in the reporting period, down from 51 violations that were recorded in the first half of 2018.
According to the report, two journalists were killed across Syria in June while three others were killed in the months of February, March and April. It indicated that the Assad regime was at the forefront of the parties responsible for the deaths of media workers in Syria as it was responsible for the death of three journalists. The Russian forces were responsible for the death of one media activist, while one more journalist was killed in an attack that the Center said was untraceable.
The Center pointed out that the Assad regime was also responsible for other 17 violations against media workers in Syria, while Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham militant group was responsible for 13 ones.
The report indicated that the majority of violations took place in March, with 16 violations recorded in that month. The violations included five cases of murder, 16 physical assaults, 16 cases of kidnapping and detention, and two attacks on the offices of media outlets.
With regard to the geographical distribution, 16 violations took place in Idlib province, 11 in Aleppo, nine in Hama, four in Damascus and its suburbs, two in each of Deir Ezzor and Hasaka, and one in Raqqa. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
