By Sami Zaptia.
London, 21 May 2019:
The international NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) yesterday called on Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), to shed light on the fate of two journalists, Mohamed Gurj and Mohamed Shibani of Libya Al-Ahrar Television.
The Libya Al-Ahrar channel is based in Istanbul and is not a supporter of Hafter.
The missing journalists were arrested near Tripoli on 2 May allegedly by the Tarhuna-based Kani brigade, which is deemed an ally of Hafter and his LNA.
The journalists have been missing for more than two weeks and it is still unclear what exactly happened to them. There have been unverified reports circulating on social media that the two TV journalists are dead, but there has been no evidence of this.
“We urge Gen. Haftar to shed all possible light on the fate of Mohamed Gurj and Mohamed Chibani because it is inhuman to let their families and friends wait so long without any news,” Souhaieb Khayati, the head of RSF’s North Africa desk said yesterday.
Libya is ranked 162nd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index.
