The Israeli Army releases an independent French journalist detained near the Golan Heights

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The reporter denounces mistreatment and humiliation by Israeli troops during his arrest

8 (EUROPA PRESS)

The Israeli Army released this Wednesday a French independent journalist detained while reporting near the occupied Golan Heights amid Israeli military advances in Syrian territory after the fall of Bashar al Assad’s regime on December 8.

Sylvain Mercadier, a contributor to the weekly ‘Marianne’, has stated on social networks that he was detained along with his ‘fixer’, Mohamed al Fayed, by soldiers of the Israeli Army in the Syrian town of El Hmidaia, near the established separation line. between Syria and Israel in 1974.

The journalist, who said he was “fine,” reported on social media that the Israeli troops handcuffed them both and blindfolded them and then mistreated and harassed them “for more than four hours.” Later, they were released into a field without restraints.

“The Israelis stole my SIM card, my camera memory cards and 200 US dollars from Mohamed,” he detailed, adding that they both walked for half an hour until they reached a house, covered in “bruises and scratches.”

Mercadier has also reported that his ‘fixer’ was hit in the back of the head with the butt of a gun. “When the Army ordered us to stop recording, we stopped. When they searched the car, we let them do it, but when they wanted to confiscate a laptop that was in the car, Mohamed protested and we were immediately arrested,” he added.

His release has been confirmed by the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The weekly ‘Marianne’ had reported shortly before that the journalist, who was wearing a bulletproof vest and was identified as press, had permission to film the troops in the area. Mercadier, accompanied by his ‘fixer’, was forced to get into a car and his whereabouts were unknown.

Journalist Quentin Muller, head of International at Marianne, has previously stressed that Mercadier is not a member of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), nor of the Shiite militia party Hezbollah or the Syrian group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS).

“As Israel is a ‘democratic’ country, they must be released quickly. I would like to point out that his electronic equipment was seized and we have not heard from him or his companion. Witnesses say they were beaten, handcuffed and blindfolded before taking them who knows where,” he added.

One of the first politicians to react has been the French deputy Mathilde Panot, leader of La Francia Insumisa (LFI) in the National Assembly, who has denounced her arrest and demanded her “immediate” release, since it violates International Law. .

The occupied Golan Heights have returned to prominence after the fall of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, following a fleeting offensive carried out by rebels and jihadists, and led by HTS, which now represents the Syrian authorities.

In the midst of the change in power in Syria, Israel took the opportunity to advance positions beyond the Golan Heights, alluding to an operation to guarantee its security. In mid-December the Israeli Government approved a new expansion plan in the area.

The Golan Heights are a territory that Israel seized from Syria during the Six-Day War (1967) and the Yom Kippur War (1973) and which it effectively annexed in 1981 in a movement not recognized by the international community.