Journalist Shireen killing: One year on, demand for justice continues

In this picture taken on May 11, 2023, a man visits the spot where Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed on May 11, 2022 while covering an Israeli raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank. Pic/AFP

"Tens of independent investigations have concluded that Israeli defense forces were responsible for Shireen Abu Akleh's death. Millions around the world watched live as Israeli police then attacked her funeral," wrote a US-based human rights lawyer, Mai El-Sadany on the first death anniversary of the slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Mai El-Sadany is one among hundreds of people demanding justice for journalist Shireen.

On May 11, 2022, Abu Akleh was killed while covering an IDF raid on the Jenin Refugee camp in the West Bank. Abu Akleh was wearing a blue vest with "PRESS" written on it. Her death initially led to accusations by her colleagues, including an AFP photojournalist, that Israeli soldiers were responsible. However, Israel denied responsibility and blamed Palestinian militants. Later, the IDF conducted an investigation and stated that it was possible she had been killed by fire from either the IDF or Palestinians. Several independent investigations, including those conducted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bellingcat, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, concluded that the shot that killed her came from Israeli forces. A separate independent investigation by CNN concluded that her death was the result of a targeted Israeli killing.

The International Press Institute in a statement on Thursday demanded justice for the killing of the veteran journalist. "The IPI global network demands justice and full accountability for this fatal attack, and calls on the government of Israel and all other states to fulfil their commitments under international law to ensure that crimes against journalists are fully investigated and prosecuted," read the statement.

IPI's Executive Director Frane Maroević said that he was appalled they are marking the one-year anniversary of Shireen's killing and that Israel has yet to pursue any credible investigation into the killing. "Shireen's killing represents a deeply disturbing attack on the press, not least because of credible reports that she and other journalists were intentionally targeted by Israeli forces, but also in light of rampant impunity for crimes against journalists by Israel in the occupied Palestine territory," Frane Maroević was quoted as saying in the statement.

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Marking the death anniversary of the journalist, Aljazeera Network called a special session demanding justice for the journalist's killing. Dr. Mostefa Souag, A. Director General of the Network, was quoted on Al Jazeera PR's twitter account as saying, "Today, we are gathering in the one-year commemoration of the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, to stand against those who want to silence journalism and Al Jazeera. But, we will not be silenced. "

"We will continue our efforts within the Network and with international human rights and press freedom organisation to achieve justice for shireen and have taken the case to the ICC, from which we expect an action to be taken," he added.

The veteran journalist's niece Lina Abu Akleh shared an statement of the family on Thursday. "It's been a long and painful year since my aunt, Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier. My family and I are heartbroken but we are steadfast in our calls for accountability and justice for Shireen," Lina wrote while sharing the statement.