Bilal Abdul Kareem facts for kids

Bilal Abdul Kareem (born Darrell Lamont Phelps) is an American journalist. He is known for reporting from war zones, especially during the Syrian Civil War. He has worked with news groups like CNN.

Bilal Abdul Kareem believes that the United States government has placed him on a special list. This list is sometimes called the "US kill list". He claims he has survived five attacks by US military drones. These attacks, he says, killed innocent people nearby. Some people have criticized his reporting. They felt he was too close to certain groups in Syria.

In August 2020, Bilal Abdul Kareem was arrested by a group called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. This happened in Atme, northern Idlib. He was held for six months. He was finally set free in February 2021.

Early Life and Career

Bilal Abdul Kareem was born Darrell Lamont Phelps. He grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. He went to Mount Vernon High School. Later, he studied creative writing at Purchase College SUNY. Before becoming a journalist, he even worked in stand-up comedy.

He later became a Muslim. He felt drawn to the religion because it focused on clean living. He traveled to Egypt to learn Arabic. There, he got a job as a TV presenter for Huda TV. After leaving that job, he made documentaries in Rwanda and Libya. In 2012, he arrived in Syria.

Reporting from Syria

Bilal Abdul Kareem first worked with big news groups. These included Sky News and the BBC. Later, he helped start a news group called On The Ground News. This group aims to share accurate news in English about the Syrian conflict. They want to help people in Western countries understand what is happening.

Court Case Against the US Government

In 2017, Bilal Abdul Kareem took legal action. He filed a lawsuit against the United States government. He claimed they tried to harm him. He asked to be removed from the "kill list". Another journalist, Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan, also joined the lawsuit. He was also thought to be on the list.

In June 2018, government lawyers asked the court to stop the lawsuit. They said Bilal could not prove he was a target. They also said the government had full power in military actions outside the US. But a judge named Rosemary Collyer disagreed. She said Bilal had the right to a fair process. She wrote:

Due process is not merely an old and dusty procedural obligation. . . . It is a living, breathing concept that protects US persons from overreaching government action even, perhaps, on an occasion of war.

The judge also said Bilal could not challenge the laws about the "kill list". But as an American citizen, he had the right to know why he was on it. He also had the right to know if his reporting was protected by free speech laws. Bilal believed he was on the list because of his reporting.

The judge also said Bilal's case was different from others. For example, a previous drone strike killed a US citizen named Anwar al-Awlaki. Bilal was not challenging the military program itself. Instead, he was challenging the process of putting a citizen on the list without warning. The judge removed Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan from the case. This was because Ahmad was not a US citizen. His claims were not strong enough.

Later Incidents

In May 2019, Bilal survived another attack. A Syrian Army tank shelled his location in Idlib. He was injured by shrapnel. He was with Sky News reporters during this attack.

In July 2019, Bilal and his team were near the Hama frontline. A Russian jet's autocannon shelled nearby. They survived this attack too.

Dismissal of the Court Case

The government later asked the court to dismiss the case again. They argued that the information Bilal wanted was secret. This included details about why he might be on the list. The court agreed with the government. They said this information was protected by "state secrets privilege". This meant Bilal could not get the information he needed.

Because of this, the court dismissed his case. Bilal was left without a way to continue his legal fight. The court stated that without access to the secret information, he could not prove his rights were violated.

Arrest by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham

In August 2020, Bilal was arrested. An aid worker named Tauqir Sharif was also arrested. This was done by a group called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. People in Idlib protested these arrests. They included family members of Sharif and friends of Bilal. They said there were no official charges. Also, families could not visit or get information.

Tauqir Sharif was released in November 2020. Bilal Abdul Kareem was released later, in February 2021.