A journalist working for Press TV on the Turkish-Syrian border was killed on Sunday in what are claimed to be suspicious circumstances.
Serena Shim was reported to have died in a car accident while returning to her hotel in Turkey after leaving the strategically important Syrian town of Kobani.
She was a passenger in a car that collided with a truck. But Press TV, an Iranian broadcaster, does not accept that it was an accident.
Her death occurred the day after she broadcast an item - as shown in the clip above - in which she said the Turkish intelligence agency had threatened her and accused her of spying.
She had reported that Islamic State militants had crossed from Turkey into Syria on trucks bearing the symbols of the World Food Organisation and other NGOs.
Shim, an American citizen of Lebanese origin, told Press TV viewers she was "a bit frightened" by what Turkish intelligence "might use against me."
She feared arrest, noting that Turkey is labelled, according to the press freedom watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, as the world's largest prison for journalists.
In a report on the Press TV website, a London-based political analyst claimed that "our sister Serena" had been "assassinated by the government of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan."
Shabir Hassan Ali said: "Serena was hounded in a fashion by Turkish intelligence" because she told the truth about Erdogan's regime, which he accused of oppressing the Kurdish population and "actively" supporting Islamic State (Isis).
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion