Miran Hrovatin (11 September 1949 – 20 March 1994) was an Italian photographer and camera operator killed in

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...

, Somalia, together with journalist

Ilaria Alpi Ilaria Alpi (24 May 1961 – 20 March 1994) was an Italian journalist who was assassinated in Mogadishu, Somalia, together with her camera operator Miran Hrovatin. In 2009 Francesco Fonti, a former 'Ndrangheta member, claimed that Ilaria Alpi a ...

under mysterious circumstances.

Background and death

Hrovatin belonged to the Slovenian ethnic community of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

. He worked before for the agency Alpe Adria then for the agency Videoest of Trieste. On 20 March 1994, he and

were killed in an ambush on their jeep in Mogadishu by a seven-man commando unit after returning from

Bosaso Bosaso ( so, Boosaaso, ar, بوصاصو), historically known as Bender Cassim is a city in the northeastern Bari province ('' gobol'') of Somalia. It is the seat of the Bosaso District. Located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden, the mu ...

, while they were in

reporting for

Rai 3 Rai 3 (formerly Rete 3) is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It was launched on 15 December 1979 and its programming is centred towards cultural and ...

. With them were a bodyguard, who escaped unharmed and disappeared, and the driver Sid Abdi who was also unhurt. Miran was in Somalia to cover the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Bar ...

and investigate on an illegal traffic of weapons and toxic waste possibly concerning also the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

and other Italian institutions. In 2000, Somali citizen Hashi Omar Hassan was convicted and sentenced to 26 years in prison for the double murder. In October 2016, a court in Perugia, Italy, reversed the conviction and Hassan was awarded more than three million euros for the wrongful conviction and nearly 17 years he had spent in prison.

Aftermath

In May 2009, Daniel Biacchessi wrote the story of Miran in his book Passion reporter. On 20 March 2014, 20 years after their death, the Italian government has reportedly authorized the declassification of secret files into their death. The Ilaria Alpi Award for Television Journalism ( it, Premio giornalistico televisivo Ilaria Alpi) was created in his honor.

References

External links

The complete list of Italian information war dead (after the end of World War II) on the website ''www.ilariaalpi.it''

Fondazione Luchetta Ota D'Angelo Hrovatin
1949 births 1990s murders in Somalia 1994 crimes in Somalia 1994 deaths 1994 murders in Africa 20th-century Italian journalists Assassinated Italian journalists Italian male journalists Italian people murdered abroad Italian people of Slovenian descent Journalists killed while covering the Somali Civil War Unsolved murders in Somalia 20th-century Italian male writers {{Italy-journalist-stub

Background and death

Aftermath

See also

References

External links