Bassel al-Shahade

Freelance

May 28, 2012, in Homs, Syria

Al-Shahade, a 28-year-old filmmaker and citizen journalist, and his cameraman, Ahmed al-Assam, were filming incursions by security forces in the Homs neighborhood of Safsafa when a shell hit their car and killed them, Amer Matar, an exiled Syrian journalist and a close friend of al-Shahade, told CPJ. News reports have suggested that security forces targeted the journalists because they were filming.

Al-Shahade, a prominent filmmaker, was working on a film commemorating the first anniversary of the Syrian uprising, Matar told CPJ. He was studying at Syracuse University in New York on a Fulbright scholarship, but had left in the fall semester to return to Syria and cover the unrest while teaching training courses in filming and interviewing techniques to aspiring citizen journalists. 

Al-Shahade's short films can be found on his YouTube channel. In December 2011, he was interviewed by the U.S.-based broadcast program Democracy Now! about the unrest.

Medium: Internet

Job: Camera Operator

Beats Covered: Human Rights, War

Gender: Male

Local or Foreign: Local

Freelance: Yes

Type of Death: Crossfire/Combat-Related

Suspected Source of Fire: Military Officials

Impunity: Yes

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• Five citizen journalists killed over two days in Syria, June 8, 2012