Sorrow and grief. But at the same time a prevailing sense of determination to learn the truth. This was the mood of Serena Shim’s next of kin upon receiving the news of her untimely death.
They refused to speak on Camera, but Serena’s father made it clear to Press TV off-camera that he was not buying the story of his daughter’s death.Family members of Press TV’s American-Lebanese correspondent, say they do not believe their daughter died in a normal accident in Turkey.
Press TV news director Hamid Reza Emadi says the “suspicious death,” of the news channel’s correspondent in Turkey is a tragedy for “anyone who wants to get the truth.”
Emadi made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Sunday following Serena Shim’s death across the border from Syria’s Kurdish city of Kobani, where the ISIL terrorists and Kurdish fighters are engaged in heavy battles.He further noted that “Press TV has every right to pursue the matter legally.”
Shim said she was among the few journalists who had obtained stories about Takfiri militants’ infiltration into Syria through the Turkish border, adding she had gained access to images showing militants crossing the border in trucks belonging to the World Food Organization and other NGOs.
Media people in Lebanon also stressed the need for finding the truth in such incidents, and also suggested that something fishy might have taken place. Serena began her work with Press TV at the Beirut Bureau.
This was the start of a journey that took her around the globe. From Beirut she then went on to cover stories in Damascus. She later returned Beirut to report on events in the northern city of Tripoli.Her next stop was Istanbul and from there she headed to the Iraqi capital Baghdad. For a while she worked in another hot spot: Ukraine. This was right before her journey ended sadly near Kobane.
After Maya Nasser Press TV now mourns the loss of Serena Shim, both of whom lost their lives as they were covering events in conflict zones. In addition to the human loss, perhaps the other major casualty is the truth. Something which many say is hard to find nowadays.
An American journalist calls for an open and transparent investigation into the death of Press TV journalist Serena Shim, saying the Turkish intelligence might be behind the incident.
James Morris, editor of America-hijacked.com, made the remarks on Sunday while commenting to Press TV on Serena Shim’s death. “My condolences to Press TV and the family of Serena Shim... It is very sad to hear of her passing today. I think it is very important to have an open and transparent investigation into her death,” Morris said.
On Friday, Shim, an American citizen of Lebanese origin, told Press TV that the Turkish intelligence had accused her of spying probably due to some of the stories she had covered about Turkey’s stance on the ISIL terrorists in Kobani and its surroundings, adding that she feared being arrested.
Another political analyst has termed the suspicious death of Press TV’s correspondent in Turkey, Serena Shim, as an act of “assassination” by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“The reality is that our sister Serena was assassinated by Erdogan’s regime,” Shabir Hassan Ali, a political analyst from London, said in an interview with Press TV on Sunday night, adding, “Serena was hounded in a fashion by Turkish intelligence.”
The analyst further said that she was “assassinated” because “she gave the truth about what this regime in Turkey, that has been oppressing its people, that has been oppressing the Kurdish population and that is actively working to support…this terrorist organization known as the ISIL” is doing.
The analyst further called the killing of Maya Nasser, another Press TV correspondent, in Syria an act of “assassination” by terrorist groups.
Serena was going back to her hotel from a report scene in the Turkish city of Suruç when the car carrying her collided with a heavy vehicle. The identity and whereabouts of the truck driver remain unknown.
Kobani and its surroundings have been under attack since mid-September, with the ISIL militants capturing dozens of nearby Kurdish villages.Turkey has been accused of backing the ISIL militants in Syria.