Forjim Condemns the Murder of Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Israel Must Be Dragged to ICC

Jakarta (12/05/2022) – The Indonesian Muslim Journalists Forum (Forjim), an organization of Muslim journalists in Indonesia, denounce and strongly condemns the barbarity of the Israeli army for targeting and deliberately killing Al Jazeera television journalist on Wednesday morning (11/05/2022).

“Forjim strongly condemns the killing of Shireen and asks the Israeli occupation forces to be held accountable for their deliberate actions,” said General Secretary Forjim M. Shodiq Ramadhan in a statement in Jakarta, Thursday, May 12, 2022.

The killing of Shireen, a senior journalist wearing a clearly identifiable press vest, was a deliberate and systematic attack.

Therefore, continued Shodiq, Forjim urged that a thorough, transparent and independent investigation be carried out immediately. Anyone involved must be held accountable.

“Shireen’s death is an insult to press freedom everywhere,” he said.

Forjim also supports the move by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to add the shooting of Shireen to the ICC (International Criminal Court) complaint filed by the IFJ.

Forjim Executive Director, Robigusta Suryanto hopes that the Indonesian government will take serious steps in this case.

“Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, a country that rejects Israeli occupation and supports Palestinian independence, hopefully will speak out loud in international forums,” said Robi.

Previously, Al Jazeera television journalist Shireen Abu Akleh (51) was shot dead while covering the Israeli attack in the West Bank city of Jenin, on Wednesday morning (11/05/2022). Apart from Shireen, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said, another journalist, Ali Al-Samoudi, was also shot in the back.

Director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at An-Najah University in Nablus, Rayyan al-Ali said an autopsy he conducted concluded Shireen was shot dead in the head.

Al Jazeera, the Doha Qatar-based channel, said its journalist was “killed in cold blood” by Israeli forces. They called the killing a “heinous crime, aimed only at preventing the media from doing their job.”

“We promise to prosecute the perpetrators legally, no matter how hard they try to cover up their crimes, and bring them to justice,” Al-Jazeera said.

Shireen Abu Akleh was born in Jerusalem in 1971, and holds a BA in journalism and media from Yarmouk University in Jordan. []