Stan Storimans

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Stanislaus "Stan" Storimans (born January 8, 1969 in Tilburg , † August 12, 2008 in Gori ) was a Dutch cameraman for RTL Nieuws who was killed in a Russian air raid during the Caucasus War in 2008 .

Life

Storimans worked as a cameraman in several crisis areas, including Afghanistan , Iraq , Indonesia , Sri Lanka , DR Congo and Yugoslavia .

He was married to Marjolein and the father of two children.

death

In the night of August 12, 2008 Storimans is with his colleague Jeroen Akkermans of Tbilisi left for Gori to discuss the situation there during the military conflict between Georgia and Russia to report. At that time, no troops of the Georgian armed forces were stationed in Gori . At 8:30 a.m., Storimans was killed in an air strike in Gori. Akkermans suffered leg injuries from shrapnel and had to be treated in a clinic in Tbilisi. Several Georgian civilians were also killed in the same air strike. Storimans was the only foreign civilian killed in the five-day military conflict.

Sandra Roelofs , the wife of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili , originally from the Netherlands , offered to be present at Storiman's funeral. However, the journalist's family refused, alleging that they did not want to politicize the ceremony. Storimans was buried in Tilburg on August 21st. Dutch ministers Ronald Plasterk and Maxime Verhagen attended the funeral service.

Investigations

Human rights organizations and the Dutch government named Russia as responsible after the events. The reason given for the charge was the fact that missiles, such as those used in the air strike that killed Storimans, are only used by the Russian military . The Russian ambassador to the Netherlands was summoned after reports of the use of cluster bombs . The Socialist Party then called on the government to persuade Russia to sign the convention banning cluster bombs .

An investigation launched by the Dutch Foreign Ministry, the report of which was published in October 2008, found that Russian fighter jets were responsible for Storiman's death. Dutch Foreign Minister Verhagen called the results "very serious", pointing out that no military personnel were stationed in Gori at the time of the air strike and innocent civilians were killed. To this day Russia denies having been involved in Storiman's death.

The Director General of UNESCO Kōichirō Matsuura also condemned the killing of Storimans and referred to the international legal obligation to protect the civil status of journalists. He called on the authorities to investigate.

Aftermath

On the 10th anniversary of Storiman's death, RTL Nederland showed the documentary De zinloze moord op Stan Storimans , in which the circumstances of his death were reconstructed.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ “Jeroen, is Stan dood? As stan dood is, moet je daar nú away ”. RTL Nieuws, accessed on February 26, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Dutch cameraman was killed by Russian cluster bomb. Government of the Netherlands, accessed February 26, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Stan Storimans. Committee to Protect Journalism, accessed February 26, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b Dutch say Russian cluster bomb killed cameraman . In: Worldbulletin , October 20, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2019. 
  5. ↑ SP demands clarification as Russians are accused of use of cluster bombs. Socialist Party, accessed February 26, 2019 .
  6. ↑ a b Remembering Stan Storimans. RTL Group, accessed on February 26, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Storimans, Stan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Storimans, Stanislaus (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch cameraman
DATE OF BIRTH January 8, 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Tilburg
DATE OF DEATH August 12, 2008
Place of death Gori