The charity dedicated to the safety of freelance newsgatherers has called for journalists, filmmakers and photographers to seriously reconsider going to Syria.
The Rory Peck Trust today issued a statement on security in Syria headed by the question: do you really have to go?
It is a year to the day that missing freelancer Austin Tice was abducted in Syria. Since then, at least 37 international journalists have been kidnapped whilst covering the conflict there. The organisation says that ten are still missing, and that the situation for journalists in Syria is unprecedented, and getting worse.
Javier Manzano, a freelance photojournalist and filmmaker who has been covering the conflict for the last year told the Rory Peck Trust that the ground rules that applied a few months back have now significantly altered, especially in northern Syria.
WorldView is concerned for any filmmakers currently in Syria or considering going to Syria for documentary projects, and also urges them to re-evaluate travel there in light of the worsening security situation.
See the statement from the Rory Peck Trust
Image on home page and above: Aleppo. Creative Commons/Rene Walter