In the context of its follow-up to the case of the assassination of colleague Issam Abdallah and the injury of 6 colleagues in an Israeli attack while doing their jobs on Friday, October 13, the “Alternative Press Syndicate” wrote on Wednesday, October 18, to the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression in United Nations Irene Khan, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Maurice Tidball Baines, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Al Salem.
In the correspondence, the Alternative Syndicate called on the special rapporteurs to condemn the crime of targeting journalists, and to support the request for an independent investigation from the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Alternative Syndicate indicated in its correspondence that, according to documents, testimonies, and video clips, colleagues Issam Abdallah, Maher Nazih, and Thaer Al-Sudani (Reuters), Carmen Joukhadar, Elie Barkhia (Al-Jazeera), Christina Assi, and Dylan Collins (AFP) were deliberately targeted, which is considered a war crime, committed by Israeli forces in violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
The Alternative Syndicate placed its capabilities at the disposal of the special rapporteurs to secure interviews with colleagues wounded as a result of the crime, witnesses to it, and available evidence.
The Alternative Syndicate called for an independent investigation supervised by the High Commissioner for Human Rights to uncover the truth about the attack and determine responsibilities.