BBC Arabic's Feras Kilani and his colleagues were held at gunpoint, bound and strip-searched while filming in the Golan Heights.

Excerpt:

The team’s interrogation lasted more than two hours, during which all our phones and laptops were examined, and many photos - including personal ones - were deleted. The officer threatened us with worse consequences if we approached the frontier from the Syrian side again, and said that they know everything about us and would track us down if any hidden or un-deleted photo was ever published.

  • 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝙼𝚎𝚘𝚠@programming.devEnglish
    11·
    1 day ago

    This seems rather unlikely. Ukraine for example takes care to inform journalists and simply asks them not to compromise their locations, checking phones and cameras where necessary.

    They don’t hold journalists at gunpoint, delete all images off of each device, then threaten the journalists if they dare come back.

    Israel has committed crimes in Syria too, which they seem keen to cover up. Intimidation of the press fits in that pattern. They wouldn’t behave like this if it was jusy opsec.

    • Carrolade@lemmy.worldEnglish
      18·
      1 day ago

      I’m honestly not so sure. I agree all the intimidation was very egregious, but beyond that I think you’re drawing an odd distinction between Ukraine checking phones and cameras if necessary and the IDF doing it.

      Also did they delete all the images? I don’t recall the article specifying that all of them were deleted. That would also be unusual I’d think.

      • theluckyone@discuss.onlineEnglish
        5·
        1 day ago

        When they eventually let me out of the room, I witnessed the horrific scene of my team members, tied up and blindfolded. I pleaded to the officer to release them, and he promised to do so after the interrogations. They were taken one by one to the same room for strip search and questioning.

        They returned with their hands still bound but not blindfolded. The team’s interrogation lasted more than two hours, during which all our phones and laptops were examined, and many photos - including personal ones - were deleted.

            • Carrolade@lemmy.worldEnglish
              21·
              5 hours ago

              You can’t just say

              delete all images off of each device

              and seriously expect me to not point out that’s not what the article says, after I specifically asked that. Either information is accurate, or it is not. Factuality is important, especially these days. It’s not some minor detail, either, had all the images been deleted, it’s likely my overall argument would’ve been incorrect based on the actual evidence.