Journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik, killed in Syria, remembered

Ten years on, the families of Colvin and Ochlik are still seeking justice and answers about the murder of the journalists, who were targeted by regime forces while covering the war in Syria.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

22 February, 2022

Remi Ochlik and Marie Colvin were killed in a rocket attack by Syrian regime forces against an opposition media center in Homs in Syria in 2012. [ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty]

Journalists and activists commemorated on Tuesday the ten-year anniversary of the murders of Marie Colvin and Rémi Ochlik, two journalists killed by the Syrian regime in 2012 while covering the war in Syria.

"Today, 22nd February 2022, marks ten years since Marie was killed in Syria," the Marie Colvin Journalists' Network - which was established in her memory - wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

"We find it hard to believe that a decade has passed without her powerful voice and determination to report the stories of those most affected by war," the network added, calling on journalists to celebrate Colvin's legacy online under the hashtag #RememberingMarie.

Sunday Times correspondent Marie Colvin, 56 at the time of her death, and photojournalist Rémi Ochlik, 28, were reporting from the besieged Homs in Syria when the makeshift media centre hosting them in an opposition-controlled area of the city was shelled.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Tuesday called on France to complete its war crimes investigation into the double-murder, in which several other foreign journalists were injured.

"After ten years of impunity for these shocking and high-profile crimes, the main instigators must finally be prosecuted," RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said in a statement.

Several journalists commemorated the death of their colleagues, saying that violence against members of the media remain a major threat to journalists in Syria and elsewhere.

Remembering my fiend and colleague, Marie Colvin, murdered by the Assad regime 10 years ago today while we were reporting from the besieged city of Homs, Syria. Thoughts too to Remi Ochlik, killed in the same attack, and all of the brave Syrians who gave all to save us x pic.twitter.com/nU4bJoAZgD
— Paul Conroy (@reflextv) February 22, 2022

"Of you Rémi, I have only memories left. Rémi Ochlik, my companion, my lover was a photographer (...) He was murdered because he was a journalist," French journalist Emilie Blachere wrote on Twitter in a long and moving thread, sharing samples of Ochlik's work.

De toi, Rémi, il ne me reste que des souvenirs.
Rémi Ochlik, mon compagnon, mon amoureux était photographe de presse. Un grand photographe.
1/10 pic.twitter.com/y2zfML4UPV
— Emilie Blachere (@EmilieBlachere) February 22, 2022

Some defectors have said the Syrian regime knew the location of the journalists through satellite tracking and intentionally targeted them.

In 2019, a US court found the Syrian regime guilty of intentionally targeting the two foreign journalists, ordering a $302.5 million compensation for what it called an "unconscionable" attack.