Ahmed Ismael Hassan al-Samadi, also known as Ahmed Ismail Hassan and incorrectly identified as Ahmed Ismail Abdulsamad, (1990 – 31 March 2012) was a
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
i citizen journalist and videographer who died after covering
anti-government protests of the
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
Gand Prix in
Salmabad,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
,
where he was shot in the thigh and later died from the gunshot wound.
While he was the first person involved in protests shot to death in over year, he was the third Bahraini journalist killed since the beginning of protests in 2011 and one of 82 journalists killed worldwide in 2012.
Personal
Ahmed Ismael Hassan al-Samadi was 22 years old and he lived in Salmabad, Bahrain, which is known as a
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
village, where he was the fifth child in a family of nine.
[ Hassan was a fan of ]auto racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
and he had decorated his bedroom at home with pictures of race cars.[ He also supported the ]Bahraini opposition
The Bahraini opposition refers to a group of political groups who are opposed to the Cabinet of Bahrain government and the ruling monarch of the Sunni House of Khalifa. Currently, the Bahraini opposition can be divided into the officially registere ...
.
Career
Hassan's paid job was in corporate hospitality at the Bahrain Grand Prix, but he had been active as a citizen videographer documenting and uploading on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
video of protests since the protests began and as early as 4 March 2011. Before his death, he had joined the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR; ar, مركز البحرين لحقوق الإنسان) was a Bahraini non-profit non-governmental organisation which works to promote human rights in Bahrain, .[ His hometown of Salmabad was also known as a restricted area and so his videography there was risky.] He was the third journalist in Bahrain killed since the start of the protests a year earlier.
Death
Ahmed Ismael Hassan died on 31 March 2012 after he was shot in the right thigh while videotaping security fire tear gas
Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...
at protesters south of Manama, Bahrain’s capital.
He had been documenting nightly protests with his video camera. This one was in his hometown Salmabad where protesters chanted "Down with Hamad"—or the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa ( ar, حمد بن عيسى بن سلمان آل خليفة '; 28 January 1950) is King of Bahrain since 14 February 2002, after ruling as Emir of Bahrain from 6 March 1999.
He is the son of Isa bin Salman ...
. Uniformed security advanced toward peaceful protesters between 11:30 p.m and midnight. At that time, Hassan was shot in the upper right thigh. Witnesses claimed shots were fired by unidentified men who were possibly militia from about away and who were in a dark Toyota Land Cruiser without license places, who were with security but not uniformed, who fired shots.
After Hassan was shot, onlookers tried to help him, but he fainted from losing so much blood. They took him to a nearby house to receive first aid but the wound had hit a main blood vessel as it entered and passed through his upper leg. An hour later, Hassan arrived at the International Hospital and then was later taken to the Salmaniya Hospital
Salmaniya Medical Complex ( ar, مجمع السلمانية الطبي) is a public hospital situated in the Salmaniya district of Manama in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Established in 1957 and having a bed capacity of approximately 1,200 beds, it is ...
, by then it was too late as he had experienced significant loss of blood, and he died at 4:30 a.m.
Before he was killed, Hassan had been arrested and he was known to have been threatened by security. Friends suggested he was targeted because he told them that a member of security forces has said they were going to report him for his citizen journalism
Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism or street journalism, is based upon public citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, a ...
.[ The government denied any role and later a statement from the Interior Ministry said Hassan's autopsy was evidence that the bullet was not from Bahrain security.] Hassan's murder was labeled murder by state media but remains unsolved.
Context
The 2011 uprising positioned largely Shia anti-government protesters against the Sunni-led monarchy. Shia opposition demanded that the prime minister face democratic elections rather than being appointed by Bahrain's monarchy. Hassan died 14 months after protests began. Around that time, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights had called for organized protests on behalf of its founder Abdulhadi al-Khawaja
Abdulhadi Abdulla Hubail al-Khawaja ( ar, عبد الهادي عبد الله حبيل الخواجة) is a Bahraini political activist. On 22 June 2011, al-Khawaja and eight others were sentenced to life imprisonment following the suppression o ...
who had been arrested in April 2011 and who was hospitalized after being on a hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
for around 50 days.
Impact
After he was killed, his family and protesters demanded the cancellation of the April 22 Grand Prix event. They argued the Formula One race because of its worldwide visibility and the government's use of the event as a sign of national unity, lent legitimacy to the Sunni-led regime as it perpetrated human rights abuses. Hassan's family led calls to cancel the race.[ While Bahrain's Monarchy was divided, the Crown Prince ]Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa ( ar, سلمان بن حمد آل خليفة; born 21 October 1969) is the Crown prince and the Prime Minister of Bahrain. He is also the deputy supreme commander of the Bahrain Defence Force.
Early life and educat ...
had pushed for the event while the King was initially not for it, but in the wake of calls for, the Grand Prix continued as planned.
Muslims by custom are buried within 24 hours of death, but in Hassan's case the family disputed the death certificate and wouldn't take possession of the corpse. Later, Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Aziz, 15-year-old boy, was shot and many other were wounded by anti-riot police at Hassan's funeral.
Reactions
The tragedy provoked an outpouring of anger among the majority of Shia population in Bahrain.[ One journalist said that everywhere she went she heard people talking about Hassan.] Another Bahraini citizen journalist who had reported on the medical treatment of Hassan wounds said she was overwhelmed by the amount of blood.
Working as a citizen journalist, Hassan worked independently and without assistance or support. Human rights organizations issued the following statements:
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights said Hassan's death was part of a systematic effort to intimidate and stop photography of protests.
The Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...
focused on the treatment of journalists: "This shooting underscores the terrible risks journalists face in recording the social and political unrest in Bahrain. Bahraini authorities must immediately investigate this death in a credible and timely manner."
Irina Bokova
Irina Georgieva Bokova ( bg, Ирина Георгиева Бокова; born 12 July 1952) is a Bulgarian politician and the former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017). During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria, she served, a ...
, director-general of UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, said, "The basic human right of freedom of expression and the freedom of journalists and citizen journalists to cover events are essential for any society that wants to uphold the principles of democracy and rule of law. I welcome reports that the authorities’ intend to launch an inquiry into this serious event and trust that the culprits will be brought to justice."
Hassan's name was one of 82 added to the Journalists Memorial at the Newseum
The Newseum was an American museum dedicated to news and journalism that promoted free expression and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, while tracing the evolution of communication.
The purpose of the museum, funded by the ...
in Washington D.C. for journalists killed in 2012.
Books
Elizabeth Dickenson, ''Who Shot Ahmed?: A Mystery Unravels in Bahrain's Botched Arab Spring''. Development and Aid World News Service (DAWNS), 2013. Ebook, 51-pages.
See also
* Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri
Zakariya Rashid Hassan Al-Ashiri ( ar, زكريا راشد حسن العشيري), also spelled Al Asheri and Aushayri, (1971– April 9, 2011), was a forty-year-old Bahraini blogger and journalist, worked as an editor and writer for a local b ...
* Karim Fakhrawi
Karim Fakhrawi, also known as Abdulkarim Ali Ahmed Fakhrawi (1962? – 12 April 2011), was the co-founder of '' Al-Wasat'', considered one of the more popular newspapers in Bahrain by winning numerous awards. He died while in the custody due to s ...
References
External links
* YouTub
Ahmed Ismail Hassan 22-year-old shot to death: Activists held a mass protest rally on Tuesday
* EAWorldVie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Ahmed Ismail
1990s births
2012 deaths
2012 in Bahrain
Bahraini journalists
Deaths by firearm in Bahrain
Journalists killed in Bahrain
Murdered journalists
Deaths during the Bahraini uprising of 2011
Journalists killed while covering the Arab Spring