Murder of two Syrian citizen journalists condemned by UNESCO chief

The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today condemned the killing of two Syrian citizen journalists, found dead a little over a week ago in the city of Sanliurfa, in the southeast of Turkey.

“I condemn the killings of Ibrahim Abdel Qader and Fares Hammadi,” said Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, in a statement.

“I call on the authorities to ensure swift justice for these crimes. We must do everything we can to protect journalists from the violence of extremists who are prepared to resort to murder to suppress people’s right to share information,” she added.

Twenty-year-old Ibrahim Abdel Qader was co-founder and Executive Director of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, an online news portal by citizen journalists and human rights activists reporting on the city of Raqqa, Syria, which is controlled by violent extremists.

Fares Hammadi was Head of Production at Eye on the Homeland, a Syrian media collective.

The Director-General of UNESCO issues statements on the killing of media workers in line with Resolution 29 adopted by UNESCO Member States at the Organization’s General Conference of 1997, entitled “Condemnation of Violence against Journalists.”