AWMW demands of Damascus immediate information about a missing female journalist
By Iqbal Tamimi
The Arab Women Media Watch Centre in UK is deeply concerned about the safety of a missing female journalist in Syria.
Dorothy Parvaz (39) has left the Qatari capital of Doha last Friday on board a Qatar Airways flight heading to Syria last Friday to cover the unrest events in Syria, but Aljazeera news channel where Parvaz has been working since last year, has lost connection with its employee the moment she stepped out of the plane in Damascus Airport.
Director of AWMW in UK, Iqbal Tamimi, calls upon the Syrian authorities to cooperate fully and immediately, by releasing full information about the whereabouts of one of their colleagues who went missing the moment she arrived in Syria last Friday.
Parvaz who carries USA, Iranian and Canadian nationalities, joined Aljazeera last year, and she has covered the news of the recent earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan.
In a statement, Aljazeera spokesman expressed the channel’s deep concerns about the security and safety of Parfaz and called upon the Syrian authorities to fully cooperate, immediately, by revealing how the authorities have dealt with her upon her arrival. Aljazeera also demanded her immediate safe return.
The coordinator of the Middle East and North Africa Committee to Protect Journalists, Mohamed Abdel Dayem, told Aljazeera that there is strong evidence that Parfaz was arrested at Damascus airport. He expressed his concerns regarding her safety, especially when a number of other journalists are still currently detained in Syria. Abdel Dayem pointed out that the arrest of Parvaz demonstrates the latest of the Syrian authorities’ attempts to crack down on media. “It seems as if the journalists are treated now as a source of annoyance, exactly as the inconvenience that is caused by the social unrest which is sweeping the country.” he added.
tamimi@awmwc.net
