Indonesian Muslim journalists condemn killing of reporter Shireen Abu Akleh

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The Indonesian Muslim Journalists Forum (Forjim), an organization of Muslim journalists in Indonesia, has strongly condemned the barbarity of the Israeli army for targeting and deliberately killing Al Jazeera television journalist on Wednesday morning (May 11).

“Forjim strongly condemns the killing of Shireen and urges the Israeli occupation forces to be held accountable for their deliberate act,” Forjim’s General Secretary M. Shodiq Ramadhan said in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday.

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

Forjim urged that a thorough, transparent and independent investigation be carried out immediately, Shodiq said, adding that 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 hoped that the Indonesian government would take serious steps in this case.

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

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 (May 11). Apart from Shireen, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said, another journalist, Ali Al-Samoudi, was also shot in the back.

The 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.

Reporting by Indonesia Window