Middle East
Syria journalists ‘on the margins of history’
"Eighty-five percent of the journalists killed in Syria are local journalists. We often talk about how Syria is unprecedented in terms of the number of kidnappings, the murders of James Foley and Stephen Sotloff, but what's not unprecedented - is that local journalists bear the brunt of the dangers," Stern told Al Jazeera. More than 70 journalists have been killed in Syria since 2011, according to CPJ figures, while dozens of others have been arrested, detained, injured and intimidated. Both President Bashar al-Assad's forces and opposition groups have been accused of cracking down on dissent in areas under their respective control, and of committing abuses against media workers.
Syracuse University Filmmaker Killed in Syria
Assad emails: rise of the woman who became key adviser to Syrian leader
On 27 November last year, a young, ambitious woman sent an email to her boss. It contained a single link, to a piece by the BBC correspondent Paul Wood. Wood had been smuggled into the Syrian city of Homs. His subsequent report gave a vivid account of the smouldering rebellion there, crushed two months later in a remorseless government attack.
Exclusive secret Assad emails lift lid on life of leader’s inner circle
Bashar al-Assad took advice from Iran on how to handle the uprising against his rule, according to a cache of what appear to be several thousand emails received and sent by the Syrian leader and his wife. The Syrian leader was also briefed in detail about the presence of western journalists in the Baba Amr district of Homs and urged to "tighten the security grip" on the opposition-held city in November.
British photographer Paul Conroy evacuated from Homs in daring rescue that cost 13 lives
Paul Conroy, who worked for the Sunday Times, was carried on a stretcher to the safety of neighbouring Lebanon. He had suffered leg injuries during the bombardment that killed his colleague, Marie Colvin, and a French photographer, Remi Ochlik, in Homs last Wednesday. After spending five days trapped in the district of Baba Amr, Mr Conroy, 47, left the city on Sunday night with the aid of Syrian opposition activists. He had been confined alongside Edith Bouvier, a correspondent for the French newspaper Le Figaro - who was also suffering from leg injuries inflicted during the same attack - and two other journalists, Javier Espinosa and William Daniels.
Two Western Journalists Killed in Syria Shelling
Syrian regime charges blogger and fires on mourners, activists say
The Syrian authorities have charged a US-born Syrian blogger with trying to incite sectarian strife, and the regime has fired on a funeral procession, according to activists. The reported events come at the end of a day in which at least 28 people were killed in the country. Razan Ghazzawi is the latest among dozens of activists, journalists and bloggers who have been detained since the revolt against President Bashar Assad began nine months ago, triggering a brutal crackdown that the UN estimates has killed more than 5,000 people and put thousands into prison.