Maharat Foundation
Beirut, 9th of April 2012
On the 9th of April, 2012, the Lebanese cameraman Ali Chaaban working in “Al Jadeed” Lebanese TV station was shot in the chest and killed in the northern Lebanese and Syrian border while he was reporting with his colleagues the reporter Hussein Khreiss, and the cameraman Abdel-Azim Khayat on border security issues.
Khreiss reported to “Al Jadeed” that the team was in the Lebanese side of the border and the Syrian borders guards knew that they were journalists. The shooting started from the Syrian borders while Chaaban was driving the car and Khreiss outside the car writing his story. Khayat and Khreiss managed to escape despite the 40 shots that hit the station car but could not help their colleague Chaaban who was not able to crawl away because he had been hit, Khreiss said.
Al-Jadeed’s owner Tahseen Khayyat told his TV station that the Syrian attack on the crew had been intentional.
Al-Jadeed, in its prime news bulletin, accused the Syrian army of killing Shaaban, saying it opened fire at the three-member crew’s vehicle which was on Lebanon’s side of the border.
Maharat condemns the killing of Al-Jadeed cameraman Ali Chaaban and calls the Lebanese authorities to start investigating the circumstances of the accident especially that Al-Jadeed team confirmed that the shots were fired from the Syrian side. Maharat appeals the Lebanese security forces in charge of borders to protect media workers and provide them with the necessary security guidelines to ensure their safety.