CPJ urges US authorities to release progress on Abu Akleh investigation

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has formally requested a public progress update from the US Department of Justice concerning the investigation into the 2022 killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. In a letter addressed to the Department of Justice and FBI chief Kash Patel, the organisation argued that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has made no demonstrable progress four years after the incident.

The CPJ highlighted that while the FBI reportedly opened an investigation in November 2022, there has been no concrete advancement since. The group noted a specific lack of formal witness interviews, despite the willingness of multiple witnesses to cooperate with authorities. This stagnation has characterised the current state of the inquiry as a profound failure by the US government to respond promptly and impartially to the killing of a US citizen by foreign military forces.

Abu Akleh was fatally shot on May 11, 2022, by Israeli Defense Forces soldiers while covering an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. At the time, she was 51 and wearing a vest clearly identifying her as press. While then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett initially suggested gunfire from Palestinian fighters caused her death, the IDF later stated it was not possible to unequivocally determine the source of the gunfire, though they acknowledged a high possibility she was accidentally hit by their own forces.

Press advocates are now urging the FBI to commit to a specific timeline for completing a thorough criminal investigation and publicly releasing its findings. The CPJ emphasised that the inquiry must remain free from political considerations. The group noted that multiple independent investigations from leading news organisations have previously concluded that Abu Akleh was killed by IDF fire, with some finding evidence she was deliberately targeted.

In a separate statement issued alongside the demand for an investigation update, Abu Akleh's family sought justice not only for her killing but also for the violence against her pallbearers at her funeral. The family alleged that Israeli police attacked the mourners, causing the coffin to nearly drop, adding that no one has been brought to justice for either incident. The family described the ongoing impunity as a dangerous message that journalists can be targeted without consequence.

The CPJ also noted that since Abu Akleh's death, Israel has killed 258 more journalists and media workers across the Middle East, including 207 in Gaza alone. The organisation stated that Israel was responsible for two-thirds of journalist deaths in 2025, though the Israeli army rejects allegations of targeted violence, maintaining that it does not intentionally target journalists or their families.