Free Media Union begins collecting signatures on solidarity petition with Sterk TV and Media Haber

Under the slogan “Sterk TV and Medya Haber represent our voice,” the Free Media Union in NE Syria began collecting signatures of male and female journalists on a solidarity petition with the two satellite channels (Sterk TV and Media Habar), which will last 3 days, and then will be sent to the agencies and organizations concerned with protecting journalists.

24 April, 2024 14:14

QAMIŞLO

On the night of Monday - Tuesday, the Belgian police raided the Stêrk TV and Media Haber satellite channels in the Belgian city of Dendarlieu, without providing any explanation or reason. The workers of the two satellite channels were prevented from accessing the studios throughout the night. The police also smashed the door of the broadcast) room and destroyed the equipment and took over the computers.

In condemnation of this behavior, the Free Media Union in North and East Syria announced today the start of collecting signatures of male and female journalists, academics, intellectuals, and writers in North and East Syria and sending them to the agencies and institutions concerned with protecting journalists.

Journalists can access the petition and sign it by contacting the following numbers allocated by the Union:

3 00934154285 / 00963984559179

The petition includes: “Late on the night of April 23, the Belgian Federal Police raided the center of both the "Stêrk TV" and "Media Haber" channels, both of which represent the free voice of the Kurdish people.

The Belgian police broke all the doors of the rooms, created a lot of chaos, looted and damaged many technical devices, many of which were disrupted.

Such conduct is far from human and moral values and constitutes a clear violation of human rights and freedom of the press in a State that claims to be democratic. The Belgian Government's engagement with journalists and the media should not be military, especially since there was no justification for such conduct.

Accordingly, we, as journalists, human rights activists, federations and media, express our support for all journalists in the channels "Stêrk TV and Media Haber", and strongly condemn this blatant attack by the Belgian Federal Police.

Stêrk TV and Media Haber represent our voice!”

According to the Union, collecting signatures on the petition will continue until the end of Friday, April 26, before sending it to the authorities concerned with protecting human rights around the world.

Sh-S

ANHA