By KUNA,
Brussels : The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called for a special inquiry into the killing of a journalist and injuries to others during the Israeli military assault on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza earlier his week.
“We now know that one journalist died and at least one other is seriously injured in horrifying circumstances that remain unexplained,” said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White on Saturday.
“We are also gathering information about the treatment of journalists and the confiscation of their material, all of which raises new concerns about the violations of their rights,” he said.
The media victims are Turkish journalist Cevdet Kiliclar, shot dead in the head, and Indonesian cameraman Sura Fachrizaz who was shot in the chest and seriously injured.
The IFJ said in a statement that a specific inquiry into the treatment of journalists is required because around 100 of the people detained by the Israeli authorities were thought to be journalists from across the globe.
It added that it is in touch with reporters involved as well as a number of unions representing media staff and is compiling information on material that has been confiscated by the Israeli authorities.
Marcello Faraggi, a journalist who was on board the Mediterranean Sea, a cargo ship which was part of the aid convoy and was later detained in the Israeli prison of Bersheva, told the IFJ that journalists were subjected to body search and stripped of their equipment during their detention.