Mohamed Fahmy, a former AlJazeera English journalist who was released from jail in Egypt in 2015, has been appointed CEO of The Investigative Journal (TIJ), a newly launched online investigative news platform. Since its inception in February, TIJ has published reports by prominent journalists from around the world, including three-time New York Times bestselling author and journalist Richard Miniter and Turkish journalist Abdullah Bozkurt. The two journalists have used thousands of documented sources to expose the role of the Qatari and Turkish regimes in supporting terrorist movements in Syria. This is a radical transformation for Fahmy who used to work for AlJazeera English till 2013. In December 2013 Canadian-Egyptian Fahmy and two AlJazeera English colleagues, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed, were arrested in Egypt. The trio were accused of conspiring with a terrorist group and fabricating news, and of filming in Cairo without prior approval. On 23 June 2014 Fahmy was found guilty by a Cairo criminal court and sentenced to seven years in prison. Fahmy abrogated his Egyptian citizenship in February 2015 to benefit from a presidential executive order allowing the deportation of foreign prisoners. In September 2015, ahead of a visit to New York, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi pardoned Fahmy. Al-Sisi also restored Fahmy's Egyptian citizenship in June 2016. Shortly after his release Fahmy said that he was suing AlJazeera English for $100 million in damages related to the case. Fahmy, 45, has worked extensively in the Middle East and North Africa, for CNN, BBC and AlJazeera. He also authored a book about his detention in Egypt, The Marriot Cell: An Epic Journey from Cairo's Scorpion Prison to Freedom.
How was TIJ able to get the data and information about Turkey's role in supporting the Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist groups and helping them infiltrate Syria? Abdullah Bozkurt, who wrote the two investigative pieces, is a prominent Turkish journalist who is now living in exile in Sweden. Bozkurt based his stories on unpublished documents he acquired from a source within the Turkish judiciary, including transcripts of mobile phone calls between Turkey's top brass in the security apparatus and IS fighters and smugglers who facilitated the movement of terrorists into Turkey. He also acquired photos taken by traffic cameras in Turkey of trucks transporting weapons into Syria. The interviews he conducted were with people who were directly involved in the operations, some of whom spoke anonymously, some on the record. They leave no doubt that Turkey under Erdogan's leadership empowered IS and Al-Qaeda, funded them, and supplied them with weapons. Ankara also bought millions of dollars-worth of stolen oil from these terrorists over the last five years. Such deals helped the groups fund operations that have led to the death of thousands of innocent people — journalists, aid workers, tourists in Europe, and women and children inside and outside of Syria. These are real crimes for which Erdogan must face justice.
What was Qatar's role in fueling the war in Syria? It's hardly news that Qatar has been funding terrorist groups in Syria for years, particularly Al-Nusra Front, the onetime affiliate of Al-Qaeda in Syria. Bozkurt spoke to a source who worked at the airport and witnessed the transport of weapons to Syria. The source confirmed that he saw many cargo planes emblazed with Qatari government emblems arriving with weapons at the Turkish airport. It is yet more evidence against a country that has chosen to fund militant groups which kill innocent people and destroy the sovereignty of nations in order to force their own political and religious beliefs. How do you assess coverage in the Western media of Turkish and Qatari support of terrorist groups? It is a real shame that the mainstream media has not done any in-depth coverage of Qatar and Turkey's support of terrorist groups. The information is out there and it's not rocket science to compile it all into one report. That is the main reason why TIJ was established by British publisher and philanthropist Yousri Ishac, to focus on topics that are marginalised by mainstream media like CNN, BBC, and France 24. Some of these stations receive hundreds of millions of dollars through commercials and advertisements paid for by the Qatari government. Such ads are currently running back-to-back on CNN. There is a kind of unspoken decision by the executives and owners of the channels. At TIJ our goal is to remain neutral, balanced and produce in-depth investigations written by some of the best journalists in the business, and to cover stories from every corner of the world. We make sure our sources are spot-on and we have a lawyer or fact-checker assess the investigations before they go live. What is the role of Doha-based AlJazeera in disseminating the messages of terrorist groups? I could write a book about it. Actually I give many examples in The Marriott Cell, the book I co-wrote with award-winning author Carol Shaben who is also on the board of TIJ. Parts of the book explain how AlJazeera disseminated the messages and ideas of terrorist groups and cooperated with them. People should not judge AlJazeera from what they see on the screen. AlJazeera has undermined journalism by supplying members of groups designated as terrorist with filming equipment and money in return for footage and access to conflict zones and other areas where it's hard to report from. Sure, journalists all want to be the first to report a story and get exclusives, but not by systematically jeopardising the ideals of journalism and breaching the law. This is unacceptable. Unfortunately, AlJazeera's top management took decisions to work with terrorist groups without informing its reporters, many of whom have been imprisoned as a result, and sometimes physically targeted by various states' security apparatuses. By continuing to indulge in illegal actions to acquire access and news AlJazeera has become part of the conflict. AlJazeera called for democratic changes during the Arab Spring and spent millions of dollars supporting the views of the Qatari Foreign Ministry, hardly the role of journalism. AlJazeera has also failed to produce content calling for democracy inside Qatar, a nation that has no parliament, labour unions, press unions and zero press freedom. Qatar sentenced poet Mohamed Al-Ajami to life in prison for writing a poem. It has stripped several Qatari journalists of their citizenship for criticising the government, stripped 6,000 tribesmen of their citizenship, and fabricated a case against the onetime justice minister Najib Al-Nuaimi because he has spoken critically of the policies of the current regime and its support of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood that have been designated as terrorists. What topics do you focus on at TIJ? Look at our board of advisors and you will see that six of them have been jailed, abducted by terrorist groups in Syria or targeted by governments which want to silence the truth. Our motto is “Truth in Journalism” and that is what we are about. Our investigations revolve around press freedom, terrorism, environment, health, corruption, human rights, governance and migration. Our roving reporters include people like Lindsey Snell, the American award-winning journalist kidnapped by Al-Nusra Front in Syria and hounded by Erdogan via Interpol. She has just returned from being embeded with the Nigerian army while reporting for TIJ on Boko Haram. Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui, who is living in exile in Paris, survived an abduction and possible assassination attempt by the Pakistani military and still continues to write hard-hitting articles for TIJ on Pakistani issues. Richard Minitir, the best-selling author, is also a regular contributor to TIJ and has written an eye-opening investigation about Qatar hacking and targeting the e-mail addresses of more than 1,400 influential people worldwide including diplomats, journalists, academics, activists, soccer players and Bollywood actors. And I am particularly excited about a report written by Penny Hosie, coming soon to TIJ, about air pollution and its impact on public health. Does TIJ produce video content? We sure do. It's mainly for an audience too busy to read, one that needs a quick video fix to feed their hunger for true journalism. In July we will begin filming a studio-based talk show in New York that will host experts on the topics we investigate so as to ensure our audience receives a variety of information from different global sources. The web-based show will run on the TIJ TV slot on the website, on social media and YouTube. I am proud of the team producing it. Tal Heinrich, the host of the show, has blown me away with her fluency in English, Hebrew, Arabic and French. We intend to discuss topics that range from the exodus of refugees in Venezuela to talk of designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group in the US. We will discuss women's rights, air pollution and press freedom. The show will be a manifestation of TIJ's mandate. What is the purpose of the whistle-blowing portal on the site? We welcome and respect whistle blowers who approach us with a good cause and good intentions. TIJ welcomes those who send us documents, videos or other information which exposes tyranny, corruption — anything that could be the start of an eye-opening investigation. TIJ protects its sources at all times. What is the next big thing for TIJ? I work from the small TIJ bureau in Vancouver, Canada, where I live. We also have affiliates in Washington DC, and of course the head office is in London. We are all excited about our official launch that will take place in London on 9 July. The line-up of speakers and guests, from prominent officials to journalists, is marvellous. Award-winning journalist Maria Ressa from the Philippines will be joining us as a keynote speaker. Tamara Pearl, the sister of slain American journalist Daniel Pearl, will honour us with her words of wisdom as she continues to carry the legend of her dear brother, a man whose life defined everything that makes investigative journalism a necessary counter to the lies thrown at us even by leaders and heads of state. The event will be live-streamed on www.investigtivejournal.org.
