Turkey officials arrested three people in connection with the killing of Syrian activist and filmmaker in southern Turkey. The state-run news agency reported that the Syrian filmmaker was also part of the opposition.
In December, the editor-in-chief of Hinta Magazine, Naji al-Jarf died after being shot in broad daylight in the street of Gaziantep province. The pro-opposition activist was the third Syrian journalist who was killed in an attack in Turkey.
Anadolu Agency reported that the local police have arrested one suspect and two people who were believed to have helped in the murder of al-Jarf. On late Saturday, the court ordered them to be jailed while the trial is still pending. The government released no other information regarding the suspects. Other news agency tried calling the lawyer of the suspects, but there was no response as well.
Without Borders, a Paris-based news agency also reported that al-Jarf had been receiving death threats. The threats came after the filmmaker made a documentary film about the Islamic State group and how they commit violence and chaos.
Back in October, the Islamic State terrorist group admitted that they were the ones responsible for the murder of al-Jarf. The assailants used a silencer outside an establishment that houses Syrian opposition news outlets.
Naji al-Jarf was also part of a group of journalists who work to expose human right abuses and terrorist violence in Raqa. He was a prominent activist and was considered to be a lost in Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBBS) party. In 2015, RBBS made counter-narrative to Islamic State's slickly produced version of events and was awarded by the International Press Freedom for its work.
The Islamic State group also claimed responsibility for the murder of young activist Ibrahim Abdelkader and his close companion Fares Hamadi. Still, like Naji al-Jarf's case, the officials in the government provided other information about their death. The authorities also did not release any identity of the suspects.
Christophe Deloire, a secretary general of Without Borders said, "Jarf's murder has again demonstrated the vulnerability of Syrian refugee journalists in Turkey and has sent an intimidatory message to all of his colleagues, one that is unacceptable,"
The death of Naji al-Jarf did not quench the activists' zeal to expose the violence brought by Islamic State. International right groups condemned such murder and are hopeful that the government will execute proper justice.
