ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Rudaw anchor Omar Kalo was released on Thursday, more than a month after he was detained by Syrian authorities near Aleppo.
Rebar Kalo, the brother of Omar, revealed the Syrian government released his brother and he is now in Damascus.
Omar Kalo was separated from his family while traveling from Manbij to Aleppo to renew his passport on August 25. His wife and family were released by military intelligence, but he was taken to the Military Security (Palestine Branch) in Damascus.
Rudaw Media Network learned of his arrest at the time but waited to issue a statement until September 4 at the request of his family.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for Syrian officials to 'immediately release' Kalo on September 5.
Kalo covered the Battle for Kobane on the ground and then came to work at Rudaw's headquarters in Erbil in 2015 as a news anchor. He has executed his duties as a news anchor on Rudaw television and radio very professionally.
Kalo completed his studies at the journalism school at the University of Damascus.
Syria is one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, according to the CPJ.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment