On Wednesday, the militant group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham arrested Zaman al-Wasl reporter Juma’a Haj Hamdo from his house in the western countryside of Aleppo.
According to initial information, Hamdo was taken to an unknown destination.
Members of the former Syrian offshoot of al-Qaeda did not reveal the reason behind his arbitrary arrest.
Fathi Ibrahim Bayoud, the Editor-in-Chief of Zaman al-Wasl, demanded the immediate release of the prominent local reporter, saying Hamdo’s arrest is the latest attempt by those who seek to silence free speech and revolutionary journalism.
“They tried over the past seven years and they are continuing their unethical goal,” he added.
For over 15 years, Hamdo has been working as a reporter and photojournalist. Seven of those years have been covering the war and people’s suffering for Zaman al-Wasl.
He was detained in 2011 by regime security for his pro-revolution media activities.
Like the Islamic State, Tahrir al-Sham wants to create an Islamic state of its own. That ambition makes the region under its control, in northwestern Syria, a hotbed of violations and abuses.
Formerly-known as Jabhat al-Nusra, the group has detained and killed most of its opponents including citizen journalists and human rights advocates.
Raed al-Fares and Hamoud Junaid, two pro-democracy Syrian activists and citizen journalists, were shot dead by Tahrir al-Sham one Friday last November in the village of Kafrabel in northern Idleb province.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, since May 2018, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham has detained at least two journalists in northwestern Syria.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
