​​​​​​​Panorama of week.. ISIS leader killed in southern Syria, Erdogan suppresses media as elections approach

 Last week, Arab newspapers covered the killing of a leader of ISIS mercenaries and the Erdogan government's crackdown on the media in Turkey, as well as the Tunisian issue.

 What awaits ISIS after the death of its leader?

 Beginning with the killing of the leader of ISIS mercenaries, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper said: "What is ISIS terrorist organization waiting for after announcing the death of its leader, Abu Al-Hassan Al-Hashemi Al-Qurashi?... A question was raised after the organization announced the death of "Abu Al-Hassan" and the installation of another. Fundamentalist researchers said  "The organization announced the name of the new leader to avoid disputes or defections that might occur around the new leadership."

 During the past months, a lot of news was circulated about "Abu Al-Hassan Al-Qurashi".  And according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, last September, “Turkish forces have arrested a leader of (ISIS) who is believed to be the leader of the organization.”  This was preceded by news, at the end of last May, of the arrest of “Abu Al-Hassan Al-Qurashi” in a security operation carried out in Istanbul.

 It is noteworthy that “Abu Al-Hassan Al-Qurashi” has not appeared in any publication, since he took over the leadership of the organization after the killing of “Abu Ibrahim Al-Qurashi” during an air strike in northern Idlib, western Syria, last February.  This raised the possibility that he was not at the head of the organization in the first place.

And the spokesman for ISIS, Abu Omar Al-Muhajir, announced in an audio speech on Wednesday, “The killing of (Abu Al-Hassan Al-Qurashi) and the selection of (Abu Al-Hussein Al-Husseini Al-Qurashi) as his successor.”  Al-Muhajir added, in a speech broadcast by ISIS accounts on Telegram, that "his leader was killed during the battles," without indicating the place or time of his death.  According to observers, the ISIS spokesman neglected to mention any details about the new leader.

 In the same context, the Coordinator of Strategic Communications at the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said that the White House welcomes the killing of another leader of "ISIS".

 Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi took over the leadership of ISIS after its former leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, was killed during an air strike in northern Idlib, western Syria. Abu Ibrahim had succeeded the former leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed by an American strike in  Idlib, northwestern Syria, in October 2019.

 ISIS was defeated in Iraq in 2017, and then in Syria two years later, but the organization's "sleeper cells" are still launching attacks in both countries.

 Amr Abdel Moneim, a researcher in the affairs of fundamentalist movements in Egypt, said, "The announcement of the new leader in (ISIS) occurred so that no vacuum would occur within the organization with the death of its former leader."  He added to Asharq Al-Awsat that "announcing the name of the new leader comes to avoid any divisions or disagreements."  He explained that the organization "was slow in announcing the killing of its leader, about whom news was reported months ago, and it waited all these months so that this would not cause division, especially after the killing of many of its central leaders in the first row."  Abdel Moneim suggested that "the reason for the organization's delay in announcing the death of its leader is until it determines the new caliph, and then announces the start of receiving the pledge of allegiance, and this confirms that the organization suffers from a defect in the infrastructure."

 According to observers, "the organization lost a number of its leaders before in air strikes, among them Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, who was responsible for foreign operations and media activities, the leader Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, and Hafiz Saeed Khan, the leader of the organization in Afghanistan."  Observers emphasized that “the killing of leaders has an impact on the organization;  Because after choosing the new leader, the organization is preoccupied with forming the new organizational structure, and obtaining the alleged allegiance from all branches and states, as happened previously after the killing of al-Baghdadi.  There is not much information available about "Abu Al-Hussein Al-Husseini Al-Qurashi", but the organization described him as a "strong fighter" without referring to any additional details.

 Media opponent of Erdogan in the elections: sanctions to prevent "insulting the president"

 Regarding the Turkish issue, Al-Arab newspaper said: "Months before the date of the decisive elections in Turkey, the government reinforced its well-equipped repressive arsenal against the media and the opposition, which raises the concern of journalists and activists, which suggests that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan now sees the media as his direct opponent in the elections.

 "The fake news law is another weapon against us in the government's arsenal," said Gokhan Becici, editor-in-chief of the Istanbul-based news site Dokuz8News.

 "They have safes full of guns and dozens of tools and weapons" to silence the media, he added, speaking to AFP from his office on the Asian side of the city.

 He specifically referred to “insulting the president,” an accusation that in recent years has allowed tens of thousands of critical voices to be prosecuted, including students, athletes and even a former Miss Turkey.

 And last October, the Turkish parliament adopted a new law that punishes the publication of “false news” with three years in prison, without specifying what could constitute false information.

 The AKP and its MHP allies, who control a majority in parliament, voted on the amendments, which civil rights advocates deemed "dangerous".

 Yaman Akdeniz, a specialist in digital law, said that this law gives the authorities “extensive freedom of action,” with a very high possibility of arbitrariness in the pre-election period.

 Erdogan fervently defended the law, denouncing social networks that he said "know no borders and are immoral, fomenting polarization and the fire of hatred."

 And after it entered into force while the president’s popularity declined to its lowest level due to the economic crisis and inflation exceeded 80 percent, the text allows the authorities to suspend the internet or restrict access to social networks, as happened after the November 13 attack in Istanbul (6 dead and 81 injured).

 Kurdish journalists and media outlets are particularly targeted. In this context, Fatima Dermili, director of the P24 organization defending freedom of expression, referred to “new arrests targeting a large number of journalists since the summer.”

 "We fear that this new law will exacerbate the situation," Dermili said.  At the end of last October, nine journalists were arrested in Istanbul and other cities, including Diyarbakir, located in the southeast with a Kurdish majority.

 Reporters Without Borders ranks Turkey 149th out of 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index.

 Journalist Fatos Erdogan, who works for Dokuz8 News, explained that writing investigations has become more and more difficult.

 "We were already victims of violence, but I have a feeling there will be more pressure," she added.  "We are concerned for our safety," she said.

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