Syrian Photographer Released Following Controversial Detainment by Türkiye-Backed Military Police

Photograph of Bakr Al-Qassem by Nabiha Taha

A Syrian photojournalist was released by Türkiye-backed Syrian militants after a week of detention, highlighting the extreme dangers journalists face in the Middle East and the surrounding region.

Bakr Al-Qassem, 28, was arrested by local police in the city of Al-Bab in northwestern Syria on August 26th. Al-Bab has been under the control of pro-Turkish militias since late 2016 as part of Türkiye’s military occupation of the region. Al-Bab’s population has grown significantly during the Syrian Civil War, which has been ongoing since March 2011.

Al-Qassem was arrested while driving his car with his wife, journalist Nabiha Taha, after covering a local exhibition. Middle East Monitor reports that some of their belongings were confiscated by authorities, both from their vehicle and home, including photography equipment and a computer.

While Taha, who works for Aleppo Today in Syria, was released a couple of hours after being detained, Al-Qassem was held, prompting immediate calls for his release by numerous media rights groups including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders.

Since Al-Qassem has been released, he won’t be included in CPJ’s data for journalists imprisoned at the end of this year, but as the data for 2023 shows, Syria and the surrounding region is very hazardous for journalists. At the end of 2023, five journalists were still being held in Syria. | CPJ

“We are deeply concerned that Syrian opposition factions detained journalist Bakr al-Kassem without explanation and transferred him to Turkish intelligence custody,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ’s Interim MENA program coordinator in Washington, D.C. “Syrian groups should stop copying President Bashar al-Assad’s aggressive approach towards the media. Local authorities should immediately release al-Kassem and stop detaining journalists.”

Per CPJ, an additional eight journalists have gone missing in Syria in 2024. | CPJ

Authorities did not explain why Al-Qassem had been detained and held, and the photojournalist says no formal charges have been filed against him — par for the course for journalists detained in Syria according to CPJ’s data. The photographer has worked for several media outlets since 2018, including the renowned Agence France-Presse (AFP). The journalist says that he was interrogated concerning the nature of his journalistic work.

According to France 24, the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said that Al-Qassem had been “beaten” by his captors. Al-Qassem himself said he was “fine” and with his family following his release on Monday night.

“We are relieved that Bakr has been freed and we thank all the colleagues and organizations that expressed their solidarity with him during his detention,” says AFP’s Global News Director, Phil Chetwynd. “We hope that he will be able to resume his work without any restrictions.”

As for Al-Qassem, he says he will return to his journalism work “as soon as possible,” unfazed by his week of detention.

Image credits: Featured image by Nabiha Taha