Syria: citizen journalist detained, reportedly tortured

03 Apr 12 | Index Index, minipost

A Syrian citizen journalist who has been detained by authorities since Wednesday has reportedly been tortured during his arrest. Ali Mahmoud Othman, who ran the media centre in Baba Amr where Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik were killed, was arrested and initially detained at a military intelligence unit in Aleppo. Over the weekend, he was transferred to Damascus. Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy told Channel 4 news that Othman had been tortured during his detention. The continuing campaign against local and international press in Syria is believed to be an attempt to “systematically dismantle” the anti-regime “citizen journalist network”.

Syria: Foreign journalists killed in Homs

22 Feb 12 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost

Marie Colvin, veteran war reporter for the Sunday Times, was killed this morning with French photojournalist Remi Ochlik when a shell hit a makeshift media centre in the besieged Syrian city of Homs. Two other journalists are reportedly wounded, named as British freelance photographer Paul Conroy, who was working with Colvin, and Edith Bouvier of French newspaper Le Figaro.  Citizen journalist Rami al-Sayed, who streamed live video footage from Homs, was also killed this week in the shelling of the Baba Amr district of the city.