The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that the Assad regime and its Russian ally killed two media activists in August with the aim of concealing their crimes.
The Assad regime has been responsible for the overwhelming majority of the war crimes committed in Syria since 2011, especially against media activists, the Network said. It added that media activist Mohamed Nur al-Shamali was killed under torture in the prisons of the Assad regime, while media activist Ahmed Mahmoud Aziza was killed in bombardment by the Russian warplanes in the town of Urem al-Kubra in Aleppo countryside.
The monitoring group also said that one more media activist was injured and another one was detained by the Assad forces in August.
According to the Network, as many as 22 media activists have been killed since the beginning of 2018, mostly by the Assad regime and its Russian ally. The figure has brought to 669 the number of media activists and journalists who have been killed across Syria since March 2011. It noted that another 1,600 were injured, detained and kidnapped.
Activists said that the Assad regime has committed several violations against media workers for fear of uncovering its war crimes against civilians and in order to conceal violations.
In March, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Syria 177th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2016 World Press Freedom Index in view of the Assad regime and its allies’ war crimes against media workers as well as their brutal crackdown on media activity and freedom of the press. (Source: Syrian Coalitions’ Media Department)
