Sveriges Radio has terminated its collaboration with journalist Baraa Lafi following revelations of her ties with a senior Hamas official. Lafi, who reported from Gaza, was involved in boycott campaigns against Israel. The decision comes after Doku's investigation unveiled her connections with Bassem Naim, a prominent Hamas figure. Sveriges Radio acknowledges shortcomings in their initial background checks.
Sveriges Radio Ends Collaboration with Gaza-Based Journalist Amid Hamas Ties
Sveriges Radio Ends Collaboration with Gaza-Based Journalist Amid Hamas Ties
Sveriges Radio has ended its collaboration with Gaza-based journalist Baraa Lafi, reports Doku. The decision follows revelations that Lafi collaborated with a senior Hamas official and led boycott campaigns against Israel.
"The information Doku has now uncovered was new to us – which it certainly should not have been," writes Anders Pontara, foreign editor at "Ekot," to Doku.
Baraa Lafi has been a contributor to SR, reporting from Gaza since last autumn. In August, she gained significant attention in Swedish media when she was slightly injured in an Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital. About 20 people, including five journalists, were reported killed in the attack.
Ekot's foreign editor Anders Pontara described her role as follows:
– She has worked for us for about a year, gathering voices and testimonies that she sends to our reporters and correspondents, who then process the material and broadcast it on the radio.
Thanked Hamas Leader
The site Doku, which examines Islamism, now reveals that Baraa Lafi has collaborated with leading Hamas official Bassem Naim. Naim has held ministerial positions, participated in negotiations regarding Israeli hostages, and leads the terror organization's international work on boycott and sanctions against Israel.
In 2021, Baraa Lafi was interviewed by a news site as the leader of a campaign against Israeli goods. She thanked Bassem Naim for financing the campaign.
The same year, she was listed as the media chief for an influence campaign against the ice cream company Ben & Jerry's, which Bassem Naim was responsible for.
Lafi has also been involved in several other campaigns to boycott Israel and to counteract the normalization of relations between Israel and Arab countries.
According to Doku, she has also written texts for the site Alam24, whose now-deceased editor-in-chief Hassan Aslih participated in documenting Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Foreign Editor: "Clearly Failed"
Ekot's foreign editor Anders Pontara writes to Doku that they investigated Baraa Lafi's background before the collaboration began.
"We found nothing then that we deemed controversial. Clearly, our research was not good enough. The information Doku has now uncovered was new to us – which it certainly should not have been. We have clearly failed here and now need to do further work to analyze the reasons for this and learn lessons going forward."
Pontara further writes to Doku that she has admitted knowing that her boycott campaign was financed by Bassem Naim and that she was aware of his role in Hamas.
"We consider this very problematic and not compatible with freelancing for Sveriges Radio. Therefore, the collaboration will not continue."
In an email to Expressen, Anders Pontara adds that none of the material Baraa Lafi has sent to Ekot's reporters has gone directly on air and that she has not made any own reports.
He further writes:
"The fact that international journalists have not been allowed to enter Gaza for almost two years is a very important aspect to understand the challenges that covering this perhaps most difficult and polarizing conflict of our time poses to the media."
Baraa Lafi: Unfair
Baraa Lafi tells Doku that she has not been part of any boycott campaign but only helped young media students with how to report on the campaign in the media. Her contacts with Bassem Naim were about wanting to get firsthand information about the situation in Gaza from a politician, she states.
"I think the whole campaign against me since I was injured and lost my best friend has been unfair. Throughout my stay in Gaza, I have avoided everything related to parties and factions," writes Baraa Lafi to Doku.