The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the Israeli military’s decision to release Ismail Al-Ghoul and other Al-Jazeera journalists after holding them for almost 12 hours, but is disturbed by their treatment during the Israel Defense Forces’ March 18 raid on Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, CPJ said in a statement.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera after his release, Al-Ghoul recounted how he and several other journalists were assaulted by IDF soldiers, whom he said destroyed the journalists’ tent and damaged their equipment and press vehicles. Al-Ghoul said the journalists were ordered to strip off their clothes in the cold weather and were kept blindfolded and handcuffed in a room at Al-Shifa hospital. Although Al-Ghoul stated that most of Al-Jazeera’s crew was released, he could not confirm the release of every member. The release of the journalists followed earlier U.S. State Department inquiries about his detention and calls by organizations including CPJ and Al-Jazeera.
“CPJ welcomes the release of Al-Jazeera journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul and some of the other journalists assaulted and detained by Israel on Monday, but we remain extremely concerned that they were blocked from covering a major military operation, denying them their press freedom rights,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “In addition, numerous other journalists remain imprisoned since the Israel-Gaza war began in October. They too should be freed, and their voices should not be silenced.”
Read more CPJ coverage of the Israel-Gaza war
Gerardo “Gerry” Ortega was gunned down in 2011 outside a thrift store on the Philippine island Palawan, shortly after his morning broadcast – a platform he used to report on corruption within the government of now former Palawan provincial governor Joel Reyes.
More than 13 years later, Reyes – the alleged mastermind behind Ortega’s murder – remains at large, despite an outstanding arrest warrant against him.
In a new feature, CPJ spoke with Ortega’s wife and daughter, Patria and Michaella Ortega, about their hopes that the family’s fight for justice could help end impunity for press killings in the Philippines.
We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.
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