Nasser Al-Qadoumi, the brother of Bashar Fahmi Al-Qadoumi, a Palestinian journalist who was kidnapped in Syria, called for the release of his brother and for his safe return, in a statement to SKeyes, on September 4, 2012.

Al-Qadoumi is Al-Hurra TV’s bureau chief in Turkey. On August 20, he was kidnapped with the Turkish photographer Cuneyt Unal near Aleppo and is missing ever since; his fate remains unknown.

“I call on all political parties, national authorities and any person to help us release Bashar or provide us with useful information about his whereabouts. I hope that the entire world will hear my voice. Bashar is a Palestinian journalist who works in an extremely professional and impartial way. He is passionate about his work, reports the facts as they are and prefers fieldwork, even though his job as bureau chief of Al-Hurra in Turkey allows him to work behind his desk. Bashar has never crossed any legal or moral limit and nothing justifies this incident. This is why I call on the party responsible for the kidnapping to release him and ensure his safe return”, Nasser said.

“We do not know who is responsible for Bashar’s kidnapping. Several news channels said the Syrian regime’s forces are behind it but we have no concrete evidence. Also, no party has officially claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. We do not have specific information about his health but a witness said Bashar was injured in the right or maybe left shoulder and other parts of his body. We know that he is injured but we totally ignore the severity of the injury”, he added.

“Even if our options are limited in Jerusalem, we called for his release on television and in local newspapers. We also sought help from both the Turkish and Jordanian embassies, and from the International Committee of the Red Cross, but they only promised to try to help. We are in a permanent state of anxiety and the members of our family in Jerusalem, Tulkarem and Jordan are divided into groups to make phone calls and gather information. We are worried and ask ourselves so many questions that unfortunately remain unanswered. His wife is also extremely worried and we are in daily contact with her. The media reported false statements, claiming they were made by Bashar’s wife; she denied saying that her husband was currently being treated for his shoulder injury and that the Syrian government was responsible for the kidnapping. The media also claimed that one of our cousins in Jordan accused the Syrian government of kidnapping Bashar; but our cousin said this statement was inaccurate. On Friday, the Al-Quds daily mentioned that the Red Cross knows where Bashar is but this is not true; his fate remains unknown to this day”, he concluded.