The daily La Stampa has announced today that they have lost the contacts with their reporter Domenico Quirico for over twenty days. Their journalist, who was in Syria for a series of reportages from the area around Homs, was on his third trip to that civil-war-ravaged country.
At first, his silence was not considered alarming, but a usual pattern of his reporting, which had reached a maximum of six days of break in communications in the past.
His courageous reportages have come from the “hottest” areas of the world and he has been previously kidnapped in August 2011 in Libya, along with two other Italian journalists.
Assisted by the Italian government, La Stampa has been searching for their reporter for the past two weeks.
The Turin daily had reserved the option of not informing immediately the public, in accord with the government and the family, so as not to attract the attention of the reporter in an area with a high risk for kidnapping, until it was clear that Quirico had not just lost communication means.
The announcement is now aimed at informing the International public, so as to hopefully receive information on his whereabouts.
La Stampa has decided to place a yellow ribbon on its heading as a reminder that “his family”, including all the people at the daily, is awaiting for Domenico’s return.