As soon as the story of the murder of Hala and Orouba Barakat in Istanbul was spread, ALL Western media and correspondents in official media and on social media insisted that the regime was behind the killing (although the killing was by stabbing and strangulation which--if you watch Dateline on NBC--always indicate personal motives). Here is the Washington Post on the story: "News of the killings sent shock waves through the community of activists who have sought sanctuary in Turkey as dissidents are targeted by Assad’s security forces in their native Syria....In recent months, her Twitter postings commemorated the lives of civil defense workers killed in bombings by pro-Assad forces and lamented the destruction of the northern city of Aleppo, much of it a rebel stronghold until it was recaptured after a punishing government bombardment in December." But today, the Turkish government found the culprit (shown above): he is a relative who wanted to marry Hala but she turned him down. He also had fought with the Syrian rebels. No corrections will be printed in Western media about this.
PS You guessed it. Gulf media now have updated the story: they say that this guy (above) was sent by Syrian mukhabarat on orders from Bashshar to kill the two women, despite the jilted lover story.
PS You guessed it. Gulf media now have updated the story: they say that this guy (above) was sent by Syrian mukhabarat on orders from Bashshar to kill the two women, despite the jilted lover story.