Search for missing SA lensman continues

IT'S been almost a month since Johannesburg-based photojournalist Shiraaz Mohamed was taken outside a Gift of the Givers hospital in Syria. But, the charity organisation said they are keeping the faith.

Mohamed was taken on January 10 outside a Gift of the Givers Al Hilal Hospital by armed men who said they wanted to sort out a "misunderstanding". Since then, no group has claimed responsibility for the act or demanded any kind of ransom.

According to the organisation’s Imtiaz Sooliman there have been raids going on in the part of the city where he was last seen.

“There are different interest groups that have broken up in different areas of the city and have said within themselves that they are looking for suspects.

"People they suspect may be involved are being visited to see if they have not captured Shiraaz. They think at the moment that whoever captured Shiraaz did so by mistake, and now don’t know how to return him (without suffering consequences)”, Sooliman said.

“As a result, we've spread information saying if you took him we'll look the other way and you can just bring him back safely to us”, he added.

Sooliman also said it was important the momentum of searching for Shiraaz in Syria be kept up, because that will improve the chances of him being found.

The Department of International Relations and Co-operation’s Nelson Kgwete also confirmed that from the government’s side searches for Mohamed are continuing, even though no headway has been made.

Meanwhile, Eyewitness News reported over the weekend the Syrian Embassy in South Africa said Mohamed entered the country without a legal visa, which would make him in contravention of the country’s travel laws.

However Sooliman explained the reason for that would have been the area the aid group works in is currently not under the government's control – therefore normal rules do not apply there.

“The country is not controlled by the Syrian government anymore. Even if he did have one, who would check? There is no border control at the moment,” Sooliman said.

He added that having documentation from the Syrian government, especially given the state of the country at the moment, would hinder their work as an aid group. Sooliman added the search for Mohamed in the country had grown.