IFJ condemns abduction of al-Ikhbariya correspondent, calls for releasing him soon

Brussels  – The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the abduction of al-Ikhbariya TV correspondent in the province of Hasaka Mohammad Tawfiq al-Saghir by the militias of the “Kurdistan Workers’ Party” (Asayish), SANA reported.

“The IFJ joins the Syrian Journalists’ Union in condemning this violation of press freedom and demands the immediate release of the correspondent .” The IFJ said in a statement posted on its website on Friday.

Secretary-General of the IFJ Anthony Bellanger said that al-Saghir had been abducted because he had done his job in covering the news, calling for releasing him immediately.

On June 4, Syria’s Al-Ikhbariya TV said that the militias of the “Kurdistan Workers’ Party” (Asayish) abducted the channel’s correspondent in Hasaka because he covered the fires in the wheat fields in Qamishli, which are widely believed to have been caused by these militias

The channel said the militias abducted the correspondent and took him to an unknown location while he was traveling between Qamishli and Hasaka, and held them fully accountable for his safety.