Serena Shim would have been 32 years old on October 10, 2017. She was a journalist, mother, daughter and sister - and affectionately called "Sassy" by those who knew and loved her. What makes her worthy of all this attention, one might ask. Well, in October 2014, Shim was assigned by Press TV to Turkey on a mission to cover the ISIL conflict. She was based in Suruç, Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey, which is a rural area near the Syrian border. While there she discovered that ISIL militants were being smuggled over the Turkish border into Syria on trucks bearing the symbols of NGOs like the World Food Organization. She reported this on October 17, 2014 on Press TV.
After this admirable and courageous job of investigative reporting, Serena was accused spying by Turkey's intelligence organization the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) - during her October 17th appearance Serena said that she was "a bit frightened" by what MİT "might use against me." On October 19th, Serena Shim died in a car crash on her way back to her hotel. She was returning to Suruç with her driver and camera operator, Judy Irish, in a rental car when the car, allegedly, collided with a cement mixer. Her death; her assassination, was due to her forthcoming story regarding her earlier investigation of ISIS terrorists entering Syria from Turkey via NGO vehicles - she had been threatened by Turkish intelligence days before.
Press TV said that her death was suspicious and that even though a vehicle driver was subsequently arrested, Press TV disputed this, alleging that both driver and vehicle had disappeared. Her film footage and photographs also disappeared - killing her forthcoming story along with her.
RMG's new friend, and affiliate, Peoples Radio United, can explain it a whole lot better than we can. Their very existence as a media entity was birthed, because of their magnificent coverage of Sassy's assassination. Their October 10th broadcast, Serena's birthday, is well worth a listen.