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 organizations like CNN.

Bilal Abdul Kareem believes that the United States government has put him on a special list, sometimes called a "kill list." He claims he has survived five attempts by the US military to target him with drones. He was arrested by a group called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham in August 2020 and was held for six months before being released in February 2021.

Early Life and Career Journey

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

He became a Muslim, partly because he liked its focus on living a clean life. He traveled to Egypt to learn Arabic. Later, he worked as a presenter for a TV channel called Huda TV. After leaving Huda TV, he made documentaries in Rwanda and Libya. In 2012, he arrived in Syria and began his work there.

Reporting from Syria: On the Ground News

Bilal Abdul Kareem first worked with big news companies like Sky News and the BBC. Then, he helped start his own news organization called On The Ground News. This group aims to provide accurate news about the Syrian crisis to people in Western countries, all in English.

Court Case Against the US Government

In 2017, Bilal Abdul Kareem filed a lawsuit against the United States government. He claimed that the government had tried to target him and asked to be removed from the "kill list." Another journalist, Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan, who also thought he was on the list, joined the lawsuit with him.

In June 2018, government lawyers asked the court to stop the lawsuit. They said Bilal could not prove he was being targeted because information about such decisions is secret. However, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer did not agree to dismiss the case. She wrote that American citizens have a right to fair treatment, even during war.

The judge also said that Bilal could not challenge the laws that allow the US government to put someone on the "kill list." But, as an American citizen, he had the right to a fair process before being added to such a list. He also had the right to know if his reporting, which is a form of speech, was protected by the First Amendment. The judge removed Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan from the lawsuit because he was not a US citizen and his claims were not strong enough.

Surviving Attacks in Syria

Bilal Abdul Kareem has faced dangerous situations while reporting. In May 2019, he was injured by shrapnel when a Syrian Army tank shelled his location in Idlib. He was with Sky News reporters during that attack. In July 2019, he and his team survived another attack when a Russian jet's autocannon shelled near them on the Hama frontline.

Court Case Dismissed

Later, the US government asked the court again to dismiss Bilal Abdul Kareem's case. They argued that the information he needed to prove his case, such as whether he was on the list or why, was protected by "state secrets privilege." This means the information is too sensitive to be shared in court.

The court agreed with the government and dismissed the case. This meant Bilal Abdul Kareem could not get the information he needed to continue his lawsuit. The court explained that without access to this secret information, he could not show that his constitutional rights had been violated.

Arrest by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham

In August 2020, Bilal Abdul Kareem and an aid worker named Tauqir Sharif were arrested by a group called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. People in Idlib, including family members and friends, protested these arrests. They were concerned because no official charges were made, and families could not visit or get information about them. Tauqir Sharif was released in November 2020, and Bilal Abdul Kareem was freed in February 2021.