Enab Baladi – Hassan Ibrahim
From inside a room and in the presence of members of the Syrian General Security Service, media personnel appeared through their camera lenses, showcasing scattered videos of media interviews regarding the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the individual involved in violations against Syrians, Tayseer Mahfoud.
These interviews sparked widespread controversy in journalistic and human rights circles, facing criticism for breaching professional and ethical standards in journalism. Some view them as a step toward revealing the truth and documenting crimes and their perpetrators, while others consider them a violation of the rights of the accused and a deviation from the media’s role, transforming it into a tool for “field investigation.”
Interviews or investigations?
According to Enab Baladi’s observations, media activists Hadi al-Abdallah, Jamil al-Hassan, and Zelal Katee conducted three separate interviews with Tayseer Mahfoud, which included similar questions and resembled an attempt to extract confessions from him, while signs of bruising were visible on his face.
These interviews took place on April 23, after general security apprehended Mahfoud, who had worked with the military security branch “215” (Raid Brigade), and is accused of committing violations against civilians in the capital, Damascus, that may amount to war crimes, according to human rights activists.
The violations committed by Mahfoud were concentrated in the neighborhoods of Mazzeh and Kafr Sousa, in addition to his responsibility for the disappearance of more than 200 individuals, the majority of whom were from these areas, in the prisons of the fallen regime.
These were not the first interviews of their kind, as they were preceded by an incident in February, where one journalist accompanied security personnel during the arrest of someone involved in the massacres of the al-Tadamon neighborhood. The journalist’s interview with the accused included similar questions and resembled an attempt to extract confessions. He also held a bone claiming it belonged to one of the victims, without considering the significance of the location as a “crime scene.”
In August 2024, former detainee in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) prisons, Mohammed Nour Dhaboul, stated that a reporter from Al-Arabiya channel, Juma Akash, treated him as an investigator rather than a reporter and forced him to provide false confessions.
The young man spent five years in SDF prisons and was released through a prisoner exchange between them and the Syrian National Army (SNA) at that time. He was surprised by a video recording aired on Al-Arabiya channel, which included his confessions about participating in battles in Libya as a “mercenary.”
The young man told Enab Baladi that he made specific statements under pressure and fear of torture and confirmed the complicity of the Al-Arabiya reporter with the investigators in extracting statements from him, considering that the channel tarnished his reputation, demanding a clarification and an official apology, which he has yet to receive.
Professional violations
Looking at the charters and professional and ethical standards of journalism, this type of interview involves numerous violations, including encouraging violence, moral retaliation, and violating individuals’ privacy and rights.
Ibrahim Hussein, director of the Journalists’ Freedom Center in the Syrian Journalists Association, told Enab Baladi that the conduct of journalists in conducting interviews with those implicated in violations, especially during security operations aimed at their arrest, involves significant professional and ethical concerns.
He added that there is a violation of the presumption of innocence; the appearance of a person accused of violations in the media and treating him as a criminal without a fair trial or a definitive court conviction constitutes a breach of a fundamental principle of justice, which states that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. Displaying him in this manner may also exert indirect pressure on the judicial body that is supposed to trial him later without bias and without being influenced.
If the media interview takes on the character of an investigation with the accused, it poses a serious confusion between the journalist’s mission and duty and the role of the judge, disrupting the original role of journalism, which is to convey information without issuing judgments.
Ibrahim Hussein, Director of the Journalists’ Freedom Center in the Syrian Journalists Association
On another note, Hussein mentioned that publishing interviews with detainees under provocative titles and questions that provoke feelings of anger may incite hatred and increase the desire for revenge among victims or their relatives.
He clarified that photographing the person, publishing details of their identity, and mentioning significant incidents and evidence publicly may endanger their safety or that of their family, noting that this is a clear violation of privacy and human rights and may fall under the encouragement of violence.
Who controls professional excesses?
Activists and journalists attribute their breaches and professional violations to the pursuit of justice and conveying the voices of marginalized people. Some see it as fighting an ethical battle against injustice and soothing the hearts of survivors and victims’ families. This raises questions about who is responsible for regulating such coverage, whether in the case of journalists affiliated with an institution or independent media activists.
Ibrahim Hussein, director of the Journalists’ Freedom Center in the Syrian Journalists Association, believes that in the case of a journalist preparing content for a media institution, the editorial management should refrain from publishing such materials and should establish clear editorial policies that prevent or regulate this type of coverage according to professional and ethical standards, emphasizing the need to review materials before publication and assess whether they comply with the standards.
As for the independent journalist, their personal duty is to adhere to ethical codes even without a contract with a media institution. They may expose themselves to potential penalties imposed by laws if their actions cause certain harm or impact evidence or if it is considered interference in the authorities’ work.
From Hussein’s perspective, media trade unions have a significant role to play in educating activists and young journalists about the ethical and professional standards of journalism, as well as publicly exposing and criticizing these errors as a step that may contribute to regulating media chaos and encouraging adherence to the codes of conduct and ethics of the profession.
On January 7 of last year, Reporters Without Borders called for the importance of implementing seven measures by the new Syrian administration to improve press freedom in Syria, including delivering justice for journalists who fell victim to the previous Assad regime and shedding light on their fate and whereabouts.
It called for the cancellation of all measures and practices by governmental and non-governmental groups that obstruct journalists and media outlets’ work, the release of journalists who have fallen victim to opposition factions, searching for kidnapped journalists, determining all parties responsible for crimes against journalists, bringing them to justice, and ensuring the establishment of press freedom.
Media interviews turn into public trials in Syria Enab Baladi.
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