Yves Choquette : Montreal photographer denies helping Syrian kidnappers by accident

A freelance photographer was anonymously referred to as “Alex” in a controversial report published on The Daily Beast Friday, August 21st. The report alleges that the photographer identified his local Syrian guide, also known as a “fixer”, to suspected Syrian militants on Facebook, compromising the safety of Sotloff who worked with the same fixer some days later.

Choquette denies the allegations, which he says distort the events of August 2013 and unfairly suggest he’s to blame for the kidnapping.

He says he didn’t reach out to to Syrians on the social media site, but instead sought out a journalist from Radio Free Syria in an attempt to find a reliable fixer.

The online report says the photographer contacted up to 30 Syrians on Facebook, choosing those who were shown in pictures holding guns and opposition flags, in his search for a fixer to guide him across the Syrian border from Kilis, Turkey.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Choquette called the report a personal attack “not based on any proof on any real fact” and accused its author, Ben Taub, of making up much of its contents.

“I’m not an adrenaline junkie, I’m 55. I’m not stupid, I prepared this for months and I want to be sure that I do it the safest way that I can,” he said Saturday.

Choquette admits he was inexperienced in the region and it was his first attempt at entering Syria, but said he heeded other journalists’ warnings about the risks involved.

Only the fixer, Radio Free Syria, Taub and two other local journalists knew of his plans, he said.

“Everything was decided the night before, when I made the appointment with the fixer it was the night before I [went]. It was not a week before so that I started talk to everybody about it, it was the night before and I was in my hotel in Tilis,” he said.

Taub, meanwhile, said he stands by his story but purposely didn’t name the photographer so as not to suggest he directly caused the kidnapping.

“While he made Kilis a more dangerous town than it already was, a lot of factors could have triggered the abduction. It was a dangerous town.

People were being watched. Many people had recently disappeared on the road to Aleppo.

He is relevant, but he can’t be blamed for what happened,” Taub said.

He said he didn’t give Choquette a chance to respond to the allegations because he thought the photographer would likely “release information he shouldn’t which could endanger more people on the ground.”

Choquette said he doesn’t believe Taub’s explanation.

Agencies/Canadajournal