Ali Mahmoud Othman (Arabic: علي محمود عثمان, born 1978) is a Syrian

citizen journalist 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 ...

and activist from

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

. He is nicknamed the "Eyes of Baba Amr" and "Jeddo" (Grandfather).

Baba Amr Press Office

Othman originally sold vegetables, but turned to journalism in the Syrian uprising. He became the head of a media centre in

, Baba Amro News, which provided footage and content to satellite TV channels, news outlets and foreign journalists working in Syria, including

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

, Al Arabiya, CNN, BBC,

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

and

TRT The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio i ...

. He gained prominence when he highlighted the shelling of Homs. The centre was in a privileged location because it had internet access and a generator to provide electricity. It is claimed that Othman's footage was the first to be made available. Paul Conroy said Othman "was one of the activists who just made things happen at the media centre. He would take journalists to the front line or to field hospitals, or anywhere where they would be able to get a good camera shot."

Shelling

The Baba Amro News office was shelled twice; both times with Othman present. He filmed the first shelling and helped carry the injured to safety. In the second shelling more than ten rockets hit the office. Foreign journalists Marie Colvin and

Rémi Ochlik Rémi Ochlik (16 October 1983 – 22 February 2012) was a French photojournalist who was known for his photographs of war and conflict in Haiti and the Arab Spring revolutions. Ochlik died in the February 2012 bombardment of Homs during the ...

were killed while they were attempting to escape. Othman was instrumental in the evacuation of the three remaining journalists from Homs, including Paul Conroy who was seriously injured. However Othman refused to leave the city himself after the Syrian army regained control. A

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...

journalist said the

Syrian Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six ...

were fully aware the media centre was broadcasting evidence of

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

, and they were planning to deliberately shell the office. Doing so would mean there would be "no more information coming out of Homs".

Arrest

Ali Mahmoud Othman was arrested in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

by government forces in March 2012, after being lured to a certain place by a text message. On April 25, 2012

Addounia TV Addounia TV ( ar, قناة الدنيا الفضائية, lit=The World) was a private television station based in Damascus, Syria since March 23, 2007. The station is described by some western media as "semi-official" and a "mouthpiece of the gov ...

aired an interview with him that was believed to be a forced confession. He is considered to be at risk of torture. It is unknown where he is being held, but he is suspected to be in Aleppo.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

Randa Habib Randa Habib is a French journalist of Lebanese origin, who as director of the Amman, Jordan, bureau of Agence France-Presse (AFP), one of the three global news agencies, since 1987, has spent 25 years covering war, politics and economic develop ...

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

, and William Hague have all called for his release.

Possible death

In 2019 his family were told he died in detention on 30 December 2013. His family are seeking official confirmation of his death and return of his body.

References

External links

Eye Network Blog

Ali Mahmoud Othman videos

Syrian Martyrs

Official Baba Amro News Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Othman, Ali Mahmoud Citizen journalists Living people Imprisoned journalists Syrian political journalists War correspondents of the Syrian civil war People from Homs 1978 births Activist journalists Syrian prisoners and detainees Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Syria