Geneva/Guwahati: Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights body, expresses concern over the use of PRESS symbol by armed combatants in Syria and Gaza to pretend themselves as media workers. The PEC (www.pressemblem.ch) condemns the use of the sign (PRESS) by Islamist fighters in the fighting in southern Syria. A video widely shared on social media shows Islamists wearing jackets with the specified emblem while vandalizing a Druze house in Suwayda. Even though the PEC cannot certify the authenticity of this document, it warns that the press emblem can under no circumstances be used as cover for combatants.
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The same applies to Gaza, where Hamas fighters are said to have disguised themselves as journalists, giving the Israeli army a pretext. It makes the situation complicated where working journalists, who deserve guaranteed access to combat zones, may face the negative consequences. PEC president Blaise Lempen, in another aspect, reveals that globally 92 media workers have been killed since 1 January 2025, which is much higher than the previous year. He also condemns all the journo-murders and demands fair probes to identify and punish the perpetrators under the law.
PEC south & southeast Asia representative Nava Thakuria informs that India lately lost another media worker to assailants. Odisha-based online journalist Chintakayalu Naresh Kumar, who was associated with youtube channel Times Odia, the brutal attack in Muruliguda area on 12 July by a group of miscreants. The police have already arrested two persons (Sukumar Ray and Konkan Jordar) suspecting their involvement with the murder. India earlier witnessed the murder of Mukesh Chandrakar, Raghavendra Vajpayee, Sahadev Dey and Dharmendra Singh Chauhan in the first half of 2025.
(Nava Thakuria is a senior Indian journalist who contributes to various media outlets including print and digital platforms of India and across the world.)