Turkey detains journalist who risks his life to report from Syria

Reporter raised in London is held after applying for residency in a border city

A Syrian journalist who was raised in Britain, and who has been living for five years in Turkey, was detained by the Turkish immigration authorities on Wednesday (17 February) after applying for residency.

The reasons for the arrest of Rami Jarrah are unclear although a journalist familiar with the case, but who asked not to be identified, told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that he was questioned about his journalistic work .

Jarrah, who once used the name Alexander Page when reporting from Syria, lived most of his life in London before going to Damascus in 2004. After fleeing Syria in 2011, he co-founded a citizen journalist group, ANA Press, which provides filmed reports to international outlets.

He has regularly risked his life by crossing into Syria to report on the aftermath of Russian military strikes and atrocities committed by Isis. One of his reports, after a bombing raid on Aleppo in December, can be seen here.

Jarrah fled Syria with his wife and child in 2011. He had previously been detained by the Syrian authorities and feared his role in reporting on the conflict for outlets such as CNN, Al-Jazeera and America’s NPR had put him in danger.
His ANA Press group has since provided footage and reports to outlets that include the New York Times and the Huffington Post.

Jarrah was held by immigration officials while trying to apply for a residency permit in the Turkish border city of Gaziantep. He has been allowed access to a lawyer and has not been charged with any crime.

The CPJ has called for his immediate release. Its Europe and central Asia programme coordinator, Nina Ognianova, said Jarrah should be allowed to work in Turkey without obstruction.

She said: “Jarrah is known for his independent reporting on the war in Syria, which he has been covering for years at great risk. Syrian journalists like Jarrah, who have turned to Turkey for safe refuge, should be protected rather than subjected to detention and harassment.”

http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/feb/19/turkey-detains-journalist-who-risks-his-life-to-report-from-syria


Any country that arrests journalists has got something to hide, and with the stories of ISIS oil being sold there and the attacks on Kurds, Turkey seems to have more to hide than most.

daesh oil is being sold to assad's regime and the kurds as well. many of those running the oil fields are assads people.

oil smuggling has been going on throughout the region long before the syrian conflict started