Thursday 2 June 2011

Breaking news: The True Story of Hamza al-Khateeb's Death Belies Media Fabrications

June 1 2011

DAMASCUS, (SANA)- A report by the Syrian Television broadcast on Tuesday, unveiled the truth about the story of martyr Hamza al-Khateeb, closing the door in the face of the lies and false accounts of satellite channels and websites which improperly have used photographic images of al-Khateeb's decaying body through several days to serve their intentions.

The report began with an illustration how on April 29th after Friday Prayer, people began to gather in some villages of Daraa countryside responding to inciting calls for Jihad, which were taken leverage of by armed groups, to attack the army and the police, the security forces and the citizens, moving towards the military housing compound in the Said area where Hamza al-Khateeb was martyred.

"At that time, armed members arrived blending in to the crowd and succeeded in misleading many youngsters into joining shooting at the compound's guards whose commander was martyred," said the report.

The report revealed that al-Khateeb, who was found killed in the location of the compound, still unidentified then, was transferred to hospital among the other victims.

"At a the latter part of Friday 29/4/2011, we were informed by the Coronary Department that a body of an unidentified boy was in the hospital," said Samer Abbas, the judge in charge of the case.

Abbas added that after all the medical and legal procedures were taken and once the body was identified as Hamza al-Khateeb's, it was handed over to the family of the martyr through the National Hospital in Daraa, on May 21, 2011.
"Since I am the one who undertook the investigation including the medical check up, I came to know that al-Khateeb while he was inside the area of the military compound died from several gunshots, and I found no traces of torture on the body," said judge Abbas, pointing out that al-Khateeb's family can come and find out about all the details that they need and is required.

Coroner Akram al-Shaar who examined al-Khateeb's body pointed out, that after the body reached the hospital on April 29th, a legal commission including the judge and the coroner came to identify the body whose name at the time was not known.
"A precise description of the body showed it belongs to a chubby young man in his twenties," said al-Shaar, adding that the body had three deadly gunshots which were the cause of death, as proven by the x-ray photography and the examination of the gunshot muzzle wounds on the body.

"There were not any traces of violence, resistance or torture, or any kinds of bruises, fractures, joint displacements or cuts," the coroner pointed out, indicating that the period between the medical examination and the handover of Hamza al-Khateeb's body to his family was required for the identification.
Al-Shaar affirmed that the photos of the body which appeared by some channels and news agencies were taken after an advanced stage of disintegration after death which, can be detected by any coroner through different manifestations on the body.
Al- Shaar pointed out that the photos taken by the Coronary Department, however, were new as they were taken immediately upon the arrival of the body, which was only few hours after death.
The Syrian TV report continued to tell the truth about the event as it was told by the participants in the attack on Saida military housing compound.
Abdel Aziz al-Khateeb, one of the participants, told in detail how - " I used to go with my friends Hamza al-Khateeb, Abdel Majeed al-Khateeb and Mohammed Sweidan to perform Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in al-Jizah, led by sheikh Haroon al-Zoubi and Talal Shkeir who were calling for Jihad."
"We were holding meetings at al-Jizah Square to protect the participants in Friday gatherings in coordination with sheik's from other villages. There was a blacksmith who distributed heavy arms to us," al-Khateeb added.

"On Friday, April 29th, I joined Hamza al-Khateeb and Mohammad Sweidan and Abdel Majeed al-Khateeb in the gathering place where we met other people from al-Mseifra and Bosra. We headed to the military residency in Saida, accompanied by armed adult men. As we reached there, some demonstrators opened fire toward the compound injuring one soldier. Later, there was a heavy fire exchange and we had to hide behind trees," al-Khateeb said.

He added that Hamza al-Khateeb was among the injured people. "He fell to the ground and I didn't know what happened to him. I fled with Abdel Majeed al-Khateeb and Mohammad Sweidan."

President Bashar al-Assad met the family of Hamza al-Khateeb on Tuesday afternoon, and offered them condolences before discussing the death issue in detail.

The father of the martyr said that President al-Assad was so "gentle and kind", adding that the President promised to fulfill the people's demands, and make necessary reforms that will serve the interests of the Syrian citizens.
Hamza's father noted that it was President al-Assad who him self invited Hamza's family so he could listen to every detail about their son's death.

For his part, the martyr's uncle said we received the body from Daraa National Hospital, stressing what has been found is all proven and based on the coroner's report written at the office of the Attorney General.He added that President al-Assad during the meeting stressed the formation of a committee to investigate the incident to reach the truth.

The Professor of media psychology at Damascus University, Majdi Fares, said that the incident of al-Khateeb's death was used by some satellite channels and news media in a biased way, in the purpose to mislead, through spreading lies and fabrications.
In the same context, the Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar, issued a decision on forming an investigation committee chaired by the Assistant Interior Minister to uncover the circumstances of the incident and reveal the results to the public. The committee will start its mission today.

Concluding the report, the Syrian TV said the information which has been presented shows the fact that Hamza al-Khateeb never in resent time has been jailed or arrested.

R. Raslan/H. Said
Thank you very much for this article .
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

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