Funeral Held for Lebanese-American Press TV Reporter Serena Shim

posted on: Oct 23, 2014

Hundreds gathered in Beirut to pay tribute to Serena Shim, a Press TV reporter who died in a car crash near the Turkish-Syrian border. Shim was covering the crisis in the besieged Syrian city of Kobani and had allegedly been accused of ‘spying’ by Turkey.

Live rounds were fired into the air as her body arrived in Burj el-Barajneh cemetery on Wednesday, located in a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital.

Lebanese political and religious leaders were among the attendees who watched as her coffin was interred.

“We are proud of her, she was born to be a hero and remained a hero until the end, working on the frontline,” her father Aly Shim told RT Arabic.

Shim, a Lebanese-American journalist, was killed on Sunday when the car she was traveling in crashed into a large vehicle in the city of Suruc in Turkey’s Urfa Province. She was reportedly on her way back to her hotel after reporting form the scene.

Family members and Iranian media have speculated about the cause of Shim’s death.

Hamid Reza Emadi, the head of Press TV’s newsroom, said her death was “very suspect”, claiming that “it is likely an outcome of her critical expository reports of the adverse impact of Turkish and Saudi policies on Syrian refugees.”

Emadi said Shim had repeatedly complained of harassment by Turkish security forces in the two days leading up to her death. She further said they had told locals she was spying.

Leading up to her death, Shim reported she had discovered evidence of Turkish convoys bearing the symbols of NGOs crossing the border to bring aid to so-called Islamic State (IS) militants.

Her parents also told Press TV they suspected the Turkish government was involved in the death and would legally pursue the matter.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official told Reuters on Monday the ministry had no information on the case and other government officials were not available to comment.

“An investigation into the incident continues. We, along with Turkey are monitoring its progress,” Naji Kenani, the head of the regional office for Press TV, told RT Arabic. “We have a series of questions. Several questions remain unanswered, and so far we have not received a comprehensible answer to them. We expect Turkish authorities to give clear answers to our questions about the circumstances of this incident.”

RT