Iran's Press TV: Journalist's Death Suspicious

Iran's state-run Press TV pointed the finger at Turkey on Monday over the death of a Lebanese-American journalist killed in a car crash while reporting in Turkey near the besieged Syrian border town of Kobani.

Serene Shim, working as the Turkey correspondent for Press TV, was killed in the town of Suruç on Sunday when the rental car she was traveling in collided with a cement mixer. Camera operator Judy Irish was also hurt in the incident, according to the Turkish press. Iran's state-run Press TV has called the accident “suspicious.”

However, İzzettin Küçük, the governor of Şanlıurfa, the Turkish province where the incident occurred, said an investigation was under way and dismissed any allegations as groundless.

Shim spoke of threats from Turkish authorities

Shim called her bosses at Press TV on Friday to say she had been threatened by the Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT) on Friday and had been accused of being a spy.

In a video on Press TV's website, Shim said: “I'm very surprised at this accusation. I've even thought of approaching Turkish intelligence because I have nothing to hide and I haven't done anything aside from my job, and I'd like to make that apparent to them. However, I am a bit worried because, as you know, and as the viewers know, Turkey has been labeled by Reporters Without Borders [RSF] as the largest prison for journalists, so I am a bit frightened about what they might use against me.”

Shim and Irish were stationed in Suruç to cover the ongoing conflict in Kobani. They had recently been reporting on alleged occurrences of members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) crossing over into Kobani using World Food Organization (WFO) and other NGO trucks.

Press TV unconvinced death caused by accident

A Press TV reporter in Beirut said to the Daily Star, a Lebanese newspaper, that the station was unconvinced about the reported circumstances of Shim's death as she had been closely monitored by Turkish authorities during the almost 10 days between her arrival in Turkey and her death.

Hamid Reza Emadi, the head of Press TV's newsroom, said Iran would pursue the matter through legal means. Emadi went on to say that Shim had called her bosses on Friday to express concerns she may be arrested because of the constant harassment and accusations of espionage.

According to a Press TV statement on its website, “The Ankara government is blocking journalists from reporting on the border as the conflict in Kobani and the surrounding region intensifies.”

Şükrü S., the driver of the cement mixer involved in the accident, was taken into custody after the incident. Authorities have announced that an investigation has been launched into the matter.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)