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Ali Mahmoud Othman (Arabic: علي محمود عثمان, born 1978)
is a Syrian
citizen journalist and activist from
Homs. 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
Homs,
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
Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC.
The channel is a fl ...
,
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
,
Sky News and
TRT.
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.
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
Marie Catherine Colvin (January 12, 1956 – February 22, 2012) was an American journalist who worked as a foreign affairs correspondent for the British newspaper '' The Sunday Times'' from 1985 until her death. She died while covering the siege ...
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 journalist said the
Syrian Army were fully aware the media centre was broadcasting evidence of
crimes against humanity, 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 by government forces in March 2012,
after being lured to a certain place by a text message.
On April 25, 2012
Addounia TV aired an interview with him that was believed to be a
forced confession
A forced confession is a confession obtained from a suspect or a prisoner by means of torture (including enhanced interrogation techniques) or other forms of duress. Depending on the level of coercion used, a forced confession is not valid in rev ...
. 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.
,
,
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,
and
William Hague
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
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 BlogAli Mahmoud Othman videosSyrian MartyrsOfficial 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