Washington, D.C. – The Broadcasting Board of Governors welcomed the news that the Syrian government released cameraman Cüneyt Ünal today. He and Alhurra correspondent Bashar Fahmi were captured while reporting from Aleppo, Syria 90 days ago.
Ünal joined a delegation of Turkish parliamentarians and media organization representatives who had traveled to Damascus to secure the two journalists’ release.
“We are relieved that Cüneyt will be reunited safely with his family,” said Michael Meehan, a member of the BBG Board and Chairman of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. “The lack of information on Bashar Fahmi is profoundly troubling.”
Fahmi and Ünal were reporting from Aleppo, Syria on Aug. 20 when a firefight broke out, killing Mika Yamamoto of Japan Press. The two were abducted; Ünal appeared on Syrian television on Aug. 26, and a photo of him was released two months later.
