France: the trial of ISIS members accused of kidnapping and torturing four journalists is crucial to rebuilding Syria
The trial of five men accused of holding four French journalists has begun in the French capital, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomes this crucial step towards justice for crimes against media professionals. Fighting impunity is an essential part of the reconstruction currently underway in the wake of former dictator Bashar al-Assad’s fall.
The trial started two months after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, sending a strong signal in favour of the fight against impunity for crimes committed against journalists that took place over more than a decade of war.
Didier François and photographer Édouard Elias were kidnapped near Aleppo on 6 June 2013 while working for French radio station Europe 1. Two weeks later, Le Point reporter Nicolas Hénin and photographer Pierre Torrès were also taken hostage near Rakka. While the five alleged members of the Islamic State, the main defendants in this case, denied on the first day of the trial that they had kidnapped and tortured the four French journalists, the kidnapped reporters identified one more time their captors.
A historic trial for Syria
This trial, which will last five weeks, is historic for all journalists who have been victims of abuses in Syria. More than 20 journalists kidnapped by the Islamic State are still missing in Syria, according to RSF. The group is also accused of murdering 22 reporters in Raqqa since it took power in 2013. Bashar al-Assad's regime and its allies, meanwhile, have killed at least 181 journalists since 2011 and imprisoned dozens more for their work. In total, at least 32 media professionals remain missing in Syria.
In January, as the new Syrian government was being set up, RSF called the new authorities to take seven priority measures to safeguard press freedom in Syria. These included the need to bring justice to journalists who were victims of the Islamic State between 2013 and 2017, and to combat impunity for all crimes committed against media professionals.
“RSF stands in solidarity with the journalists Didier François, Édouard Elias, Nicolas Hénin and Pierre Torrès. We welcome this crucial trial of those who allegedly kidnapped and tortured them in Syria. The trial is as important in substance as in form. It carries with it the promise of justice for all other journalists in Syria, whether they are victims of the wanton violence of the Islamic State like the four journalists, the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, or other factions. We hope that the testimonies gathered over the next five weeks can help shed light on the fate of dozens of other journalists still missing in the country, and provide information on the circumstances of the murder of other reporters. RSF will continue to work for justice for all journalists who are victims of abuses in Syria.
