Düsseldorf – For the two reporters it was a completely normal interview. They met a popular Syrian singer after his concert. Then the situation suddenly escalated. First there was insults, then brutal violence.
Journalist Adonis Alkhaled and his colleague were in the North Rhine-Westphalia capital on Friday evening for a video interview. For Deutsche Welle (DW) they spoke to the Syrian-born singer Al Shami (29, real name Abdul Rahman Fawaz).
The musician (3.9 million followers on Instagram, 3 million on YouTube) gave a concert in the Mitsubishi Electric Hall that evening, and the interview took place in a backyard of the event location. But the meeting went differently than expected.
Al Shami (29) is a native of Syria. The musician has millions of fans on social media
First insults, then beatings
According to Deutsche Welle, Alkhaled and his colleague were already threatened and insulted by the security personnel present during the video interview. Alkhaled was insulted as a “faggot” and derogatory comments were also said to have been made on the TV station. The team of reporters then broke off the conversation.
But the situation apparently continued to escalate. Alkhaled was beaten up by the security forces, the German foreign broadcaster said. Accordingly, a person hit the reporter several times.
The police in Düsseldorf confirmed that a report had been received from the journalist. He reported an attack on him. It is now being investigated.
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DW director: “disgusting act of violence”
In a statement, DW director Peter Limbourg (64) strongly condemned the attack. “This act is not only a disgusting act of violence, but also an attack on the Freedom of the press. Perpetrators and instigators must feel the full force of the rule of law here.”
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Adonis Alkhaled also commented: “Journalists must be able to carry out their work without threats and violence in order to inform the public objectively and independently. Such attacks endanger this fundamental right and hinder the work of the press.”
He added that both the organizer and the artist bear responsibility for their staff and security guards. “You have a duty of care to ensure that everyone involved, including the press, is treated safely and respectfully. The incident indicates a management failure because the security team repeatedly behaved aggressively without de-escalating measures.”
Al Shami’s team denies allegations
Al Shami’s press spokeswoman said they only found out about the incident through an email from Deutsche Welle. The artist’s management was not involved in the incident. The interview went “smoothly without any problems”. The violent attack happened after the musician and his crew left.
