Ferzat Jarban

Ferzat Jarban was a Syrian freelance cameraman who was killed while covering the Syrian civil war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. He was the first journalist reported to be killed in connection to his work in Syria since 1992. Jarban filmed demonstrations and the ensuing clashes with security forces in Homs and sent the footage to several Arabic news networks. He was arrested on November 19, 2011, while videotaping protests against the President Bashar al-Assad's government in Al-Qusayr. His body was found the next day on the street side and his corpse was extremely mutilated, which included his eyes being gouged out, and with two bullet wounds. Jarban's murder occurred amid the escalating violence and repression of the Syrian uprising, which began in March 2011 and turned into a civil war that claimed more than 400,000 lives. Jarban's death sparked international condemnation and highlighted the dangers faced by journalists in Syria, who were often targeted, arrested, tortured, or killed by the government or other armed groups. Jarban was one of the 153 journalists killed in Syria between 2011 and 2020, according to the CPJ.