Serena Shim
| Serena Shim | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 10, 1985 Detroit, Michigan |
| Died |
October 19, 2014 (aged 29)[1] Suruç, Turkey[1] |
Cause of death | Car accident |
Resting place | Bourj el-Barajneh, Lebanon[2] |
| Other names | Serena Ali Suhaim[2] |
| Ethnicity | Lebanese |
| Citizenship | American |
| Education | Clarenceville |
| Alma mater | International affairs at American University of Science and Technology |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 2006 - 2014 |
| Employer | Press TV |
| Religion | Islam |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Judith Poe, Ali Shim |
Serena Shim (Arabic: سيرينا علي سحيم,[2] Serena Ali Suhaim; October 10,1985 – October 19, 2014) was an American journalist of Lebanese descent. While covering the Siege of Kobanê as a war correspondent of Press TV, she was killed in a car crash. Her employer called the accident "suspicious".[3]
Biography
Serena Shim, a 29 year-old American citizen of Lebanese origin covered reports for Press TV in Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Ukraine. She was married and had 2 children.[4]
Covering the siege of Kobanê
In October 2014, Shim was sent to Turkey on a mission to cover the ISIL conflict. She was based in a rural district near the Syrian border, Suruç, Urfa Province.[5]
- Accusation of spying by Turkey
On October 17, Shim told Press TV that the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT) had accused her of "spying".[5] She stated that it is “probably due to some of the stories she had covered about Turkey’s stance on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants in Kobanê”.[6] She had reported that ISIL militants being smuggled over the Turkish border into Syria on trucks bearing the symbols of NGOs like the "World Food Organisation". Shim, said on air she's "a bit frightened" by what MİT "might use against me."[3]
Death
She died on October 19, 2014 on her way back to her hotel. She was returning to Suruç with her cameraman Judy Irish, in a rental car which collided with a heavy vehicle (a cement mixer, according to Hürriyet).[6] Shim died in the crash and the cameraman was injured and taken to Suruç State Hospital.[1][7] According to the daily Hürriyet, citing the Turkish Doğan News Agency, the vehicle driver was subsequently arrested. Press TV disputed this, alleging that both driver and vehicle "have disappeared" and her death is "suspicious".[5]
Şanlıurfa Governor İzzettin Küçük, denied Press TV's claims calling them "completely baseless" and "attempts to put Turkey in a difficult situation”.[6] Küçük stated that a detailed statement will be made after the investigations.[1]
Her funeral ceremony was held on October 22, in a hussainia in Bourj el-Barajneh before she was buried in a cemetery in the same district.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Press TV reporter dies in ‘suspicious' car crash in Suruç". Today's Zaman. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 مفكرة النشاطات الرسمية المقررة في لبنان ليوم الاربعاء 22 تشرين الأول 2014 (in Arabic). Sidonia News. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Greenslade, Roy (20 October 2014). "Iranian broadcaster raises suspicions about death of reporter on Syrian border". Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ↑ "US JOURNALIST WORKING FOR IRANIAN TV KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT". Sabah. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Iranian TV reporter killed in Turkey car crash 1 day after 'spying accusations'". Russia Today. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "US-Lebanese reporter dies in Turkey, Iranian TV calls accident ‘suspicious’". Hurriyet. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ↑ "Mystery of American journalist killed in car crash in Turkey... just days after she claimed intelligence services had threatened her over her coverage of siege of Kobane". Daily Mail. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.