More than three years after An-Nahar columnist Samir Kassir’s June 2, 2005, murder in Beirut — a crime still not solved — his friends and fellow journalists have created an organization that will monitor press freedom in the region, work to improve existing laws and offer assistance to journalists and bloggers under pressure in the Levant areas of the Middle East (Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinian areas).

SK Eyes, named for Kassir, began operations June 16 after compiling a database of violations against press freedoms and documenting relevant legal cases in the Levant. It hopes eventually to expand its reach, according to one of its founders, Elias Khoury.

The organization plans to follow the example of Reporters Without Borders, which has hosted a seminar for the incoming researchers and journalists at SK Eyes.

Nevertheless “it is fundamental that we have an Arab organization to defend the rights of the media and culture in the region and that we do not continue to count on foreign organization to defend us,” Khoury told the Arab Press Network June 27. “We must be responsible for our own causes.”

SK Eyes plans advertising campaigns, nonviolent demonstrations, petitions and other activities to spread awareness of challenges to press freedom. But its efforts also will focus on legal defenses of journalists. The organization has been compiling relevant court cases and legal documents, including potential loopholes that can be used against the freedom of expression. It plans to pressure governments to appoint lawyers to defend arrested journalists.