The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the Turkish government to find those responsible for the murder of Syrian-American journalist Halla Barakat and her mother, Syrian opposition activist Orouba Barakat.
“We call on Turkish authorities to find those responsible for the murders of Halla Barakat and Orouba Barakat, and bring them to justice,” CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said in a statement issued on Friday.
“Turkey must ensure the protection of Syrian journalists who have fled to the country seeking safety,” added Ognianova.
Barakat and her mother had received threats on social media and email from supporters of the Syrian government but never paid them much attention, a reporter who knew Halla Barakat and who has not been named for reasons of safety, told CPJ.
Syrian opposition activist Barakat and her 22-year-old journalist daughter were found early Friday morning with their throats slashed in their İstanbul’ apartment.
According to reports, Orouba Barakat conducted interviews to investigate alleged torture in prisons by the Syrian government and published interviews in English and Arabic to raise awareness about the situation in Syrian prisons. Barakat lived in Britain and the United Arab Emirates before coming to Istanbul.
According to P24, Halla Barakat is the fifth Syrian journalist to be killed in Turkey since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.
Turkey hosts almost 3 million Syrian refugees, many of whom oppose President Bashar al-Assad.