In 2012, Bahraini videographer and journalist Ahmed Ismail Hassan was fatally shot by Bahraini government authorities. Hassan had documented protests during the Bahrain uprising, and received repeated threats from Bahraini security for his work. To date, Hassan’s case remains classified as “pending investigation”.
Hassan worked to document demonstrations across Bahrain since pro-democracy protesters took to the streets on 14 February 2011. Hassan frequently uploaded his images and video footage to YouTube, where regional media outlets used his work to report on the mass protests and governmental repression in Bahrain. Because of his reporting, and the Bahraini government’s systematic targeting of journalists, Hassan had been previously targeted and arrested by security forces, and repeatedly received threats against him.
On 31 March 2012 there was a gathering in Salmabad, Bahrain, southwest of the capital, Manama, where demonstrators were protesting the Formula One Grand Prix. Bahraini security forces have consistently attacked and violated the rights of protesters, and Hassan attended in order to report on the demonstration as well as document abuses. After riot police dispersed the protesters with rubber bullets and tear gas, armed men accompanied by security forces fired live ammunition at the demonstrators. Hassan was among those who were shot by the riot police, and a bullet severed a major artery in his upper thigh. Witnesses reported that Hassan was specifically targeted because he was carrying a video camera. Hassan sought treatment at a private hospital, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit. Officers from the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) arrived at the hospital and interrogated his family while riot police surrounded the hospital. Hassan was later transferred to the main governmental medical facility, Salmaniya Medical Complex, where he died from the gunshot wound.
Now, more than five years after his death, no perpetrator has yet been identified in the killing of Ahmed Ismail Hassan and no criminal charges have ever been filed. While officials at the United Nations have called for an investigation into the events, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported that the judicial inquiry remains “unresolved.”
Key Actors
Ahmed Ismail Hassan: A 22-year-old civilian photo journalist who documented Bahraini protests and demonstrations during 2011 before being fatally shot in 2012.
What IFEX Members are doing
Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) has previously published articles about, issued statements on, and condemned the killing of Ahmed Ismail Hassan. RSF has also sent a letter to the former Secretary of Defense of the United States, Chuck Hagel, asking him to address the issue of freedom of information in Bahrain with his “Bahraini interlocutors.” The letter directly addresses Ahmed’s unjust death and calls for Hagel’s sincere attention to the issue.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has published articles on the case in conjunction with author Elizabeth Dickinson. Dickinson is a CPJ guest blogger and author of the book Who Shot Ahmed?, a detailed account of Ahmed Ismail Hassan’s death and his family’s quest for justice.
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) has also published articles about Ahmed’s case. In its address on the Universal Periodic Review of Bahrain, ADHRB raised Ahmed’s case in relation to freedom and safety of press and journalists. ADHRB posted a five-year update on the case, which can be found here.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has previously collaborated with organizations such as RSF and CPJ in mentioning and reporting on Ahmed’s case. Their posts continue IFEX’s efforts to spread awareness of the dangers of impunity.
MORE RESOURCES & INFORMATION
A tide of repression: country profile of the Kingdom of Bahrain
MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA 20 September 2017
In the aftermath of the 2011 uprisings in Bahrain, the country has seen harsher punishments and retaliations against human rights defenders while countries such as the UK and USA have become less inclined to condemn the abuses.
Six years on: Bahrain’s human rights crisis deepens
MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) 13 February 2017
Six years ago today began the largest protest movement in Bahrain’s history. Six years on, the situation has regrettably grown increasingly worse.
