France has rejected an asylum request by a prominent Syrian journalist who contributed to numerous international publications and helped document the crimes committed by foreign jhadists in Syria. He now risks being deported back to his homeland from his current location in Turkey.
Hussam Hammoud, who contributed to FRANCE 24 and The Guardian among others, said he was denied a humanitarian visa for himself, his wife and two children despite having received threats in both Turkey and Syria.
“Today my asylum request to #France was rejected without any explanations,” Hammoud tweeted on Monday. “Idk what I could provide more than all the investigations I’ve worked on for the biggest French media agencies.”
Hammoud has reported from across Syria including his hometown Raqqa, at one point the headquarters of the Islamic State (IS) group. He helped document the crimes committed by the group’s foreign fighters and pass the evidence on to Western investigators.
“I had to move because I received serious threats. I am currently investigating the Islamic State group’s funding networks. That’s why I’m under intense pressure now,” he told FRANCE 24’s sister radio, RFI.
The French foreign ministry did not answer RFI’s requests for comment on Hammoud’s case.
