US lawmakers call for justice for slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

By Firdevs Bulut Kartal

TORONTO (AA) - Several members of Congress gathered outside the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Thursday to call for accountability for the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

Democratic lawmakers Ilhan Omar, Andre Carson, Rashida Tlaib, Betty McCollum and Jamaal Bowman as well as Sharif Mansur, Program Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists, issued a press statement.

Akleh's niece, Lina Abu Akleh, nephew Victor Abu Akleh and her cousin Jennifer Zacharia were among those attending the news conference.

Together with the lawmakers, they called on US authorities to hold Israel accountable for her murder.

"No American journalist or a journalist working for an American company should ever fear retaliation, imprisonment or death for simply doing their job," said Carson, speaking at the press briefing.

He also announced on Twitter that he has re-submitted a bill titled "Justice for Shireen," which calls for a comprehensive report to Congress on the killing of Akleh, who was a US citizen, by Israel.

The Congressional support they have received has been crucial and led them to where they are now, with the FBI’s launching of a criminal investigation into her killing, said Lina Abu Akleh.

"Shireen was someone who wanted to tell stories, who told stories of people who were struggling. But also, she shared the successes of Palestinians and their accomplishments."

"We want people to know, especially the US audience, that Shireen deserves justice, regardless of whether she was a Palestinian American. Everyone who gets killed in this manner deserves justice," she added.

Shireen Abu Akleh, a senior Al Jazeera journalist widely respected for her extensive coverage of Palestine and Israel, was shot in the head while covering an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank city of Hebron. She was wearing a blue vest marked “PRESS” and a helmet.