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GENEVA / JOURNALIST ABU AKLEH SHOOTING
STORY: GENEVA / JOURNALIST ABU AKLEH SHOOTING
TRT: 1:47
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 24 JUNE 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, Palais des Nations, exterior
24 JUNE 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Wide shot, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR):
“More than six weeks after the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and injury of her colleague Ali Sammoudi in Jenin on 11 May 2022, it is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation.”
4. Med shot, podium speakers, large TV screen showing broadcast image to rear
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR):
“At around half past six in the morning, as four of the journalists turned into the street leading to the camp, wearing bulletproof helmets and flak jackets with ‘PRESS’ markings, several single, seemingly well-aimed bullets were fired towards them from the direction of the Israeli Security Forces. One single bullet injured Ali Sammoudi in the shoulder, and another single bullet hit Abu Akleh in the head and killed her instantly.”
6. Med shot, participants seated in front of laptops
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR):
“We’ve inspected photo, video, audio material, we’ve visited the scene, we’ve consulted with experts, and we’ve looked at official communications; we’ve interviewed people who were also on the scene when Abu Akleh was killed. So, this is independent monitoring from our side consistent with our methodology that we use for many other country situations.”
8. Med shot, participant seated in foreground, large TV screen to rear showing broadcast image, side shot
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR):
“Based on this very vigorous monitoring, we find that the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from Israeli Security Forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians.”
10. Med shot, participants typing on laptops, seated in foreground, podium speakers and large-screen TVs to rear
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR):
“This monitoring from our Office is consistent with many findings out there that the shots that killed her came from Israeli Security Forces.”
12. Wide shot, UN Geneva Press room, podium speakers, participants, large-screen TVs showing speakers in room and remotely
13. Med shot, participant wearing headphones and looking at laptop
Israeli forces were responsible for the fatal shooting of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank - not indiscriminate Palestinian shots - the UN human rights office (OHCHR) alleged on Friday (24 Jun).
Akleh – an experienced television journalist familiar with reporting in the Occupied Palestinian Territories - was killed on 11 May as she attempted to report on an arrest operation by Israeli Security Forces and clashes in Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank.
“More than six weeks after the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and injury of her colleague Ali Sammoudi in Jenin on 11 May 2022, it is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation,” said OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.
Following OHCHR’s probe into the incident, Shamdasani added that “this monitoring from our Office is consistent with many findings out there that the shots that killed her came from Israeli Security Forces.”
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Shamdasani described Akleh’s final moments with her colleague Ali Sammoudi.
“At around half past six in the morning, as four of the journalists turned into the street leading to the camp, wearing bulletproof helmets and flak jackets with ‘PRESS’ markings, several single, seemingly well-aimed bullets were fired towards them from the direction of the Israeli Security Forces. One single bullet injured Ali Sammoudi in the shoulder, and another single bullet hit Abu Akleh in the head and killed her instantly.”
Highlighting the thoroughness of the OHCHR probe, which followed the methodology used in many other country situations, Shamdasani explained that there was no evidence of activity by armed Palestinians close by.
Akleh and her colleagues “had proceeded slowly in order to make their presence visible to the Israeli forces deployed down the street,” Shamdasani said.
“Our findings indicate that no warnings were issued and no shooting was taking place at that time and at that location.”
She added: “We’ve inspected photo, video, audio material, we’ve visited the scene, we’ve consulted with experts, and we’ve looked at official communications; we’ve interviewed people who were also on the scene when Abu Akleh was killed…Based on this very vigorous monitoring, we find that the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from Israeli Security Forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians.”
After Abu Akleh was shot, “several further single bullets were fired as an unarmed man attempted to approach her body and another uninjured journalist sheltering behind a tree,” the OHCHR official continued. “Shots continued to be fired as this individual eventually managed to carry away Abu Akleh’s body.”
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