WASHINGTON – Journalism advocacy groups on Wednesday condemned the murder of journalist James Foley, calling the slaying by terrorists a barbaric act.
The insurgent group Islamic State released a graphic video on Tuesday showing the last minutes of Foley’s life. He had been missing in the Middle East for almost two years.
“We talk a lot these days about journalists being under attack on various fronts, said David Boardman, the president of the American Society of News Editors. “Some of those are in terms of access and ideology. And then with yesterday we saw the most stark and tragic attack on a journalist.
“It’s a profound reminder to Americans to the essential nature of press freedom that we have in this country and also the enormous importance of these people who are willing to be our eyes and ears around the world.”
The 40-year-old Foley was a photojournalist who had been working for Agence France-Presse and GlobalPost, covering the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Syria. He was last seen in Syria in November 2012.
There have been 66 confirmed journalist deaths connected to the Syrian conflict that began in 2012, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The CPJ said at least 80 reporters have been kidnapped in Syria in the last two years. It thinks as many as 20 journalists are still missing in Syria.
The murder was condemned by various news organizations and individuals, including the National Press Club, CPJ and Brad Hamm, dean of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. Foley graduated from Medill with a master’s degree in 2008.
“The barbaric murder of journalist James Foley, kidnapped in Syria and held almost two years, sickens all decent people,” CPJ Chairman Sandra Mims Rowe said in a release.
Said National Press Club President Myron Belkind: “We condemn in the strongest words possible, the execution of a journalist who was carrying out his professional duties.”
In a statement on Facebook, Foley’s mother, Dianne Foley, said: “We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.
“We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world.”
Boardman, in a telephone interview, said “James Foley, by all accounts, was an excellent reporter. I’m proud to call him a Medill alum.”