Ahmed Ismail Hassan

While he was the first person involved in protests shot to death in over year, he was the third Bahraini journalist killed since the beginning of protests in 2011 and one of 82 journalists killed worldwide in 2012. Before his death, he had joined the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. He was the third journalist in Bahrain killed since the start of the protests a year earlier. He had been documenting nightly protests with his video camera. This one was in his hometown Salmabad where protesters chanted "Down with Hamad"—or the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Uniformed security advanced toward peaceful protesters between 11:30 p.m and midnight. At that time, Hassan was shot in the upper right thigh. Witnesses claimed shots were fired by unidentified men who were possibly militia from about away and who were in a dark Toyota Land Cruiser without license places, who were with security but not uniformed, who fired shots. After Hassan was shot, onlookers tried to help him, but he fainted from losing so much blood. They took him to a nearby house to receive first aid but the wound had hit a main blood vessel as it entered and passed through his upper leg. An hour later, Hassan arrived at the International Hospital and then was later taken to the Salmaniya Hospital, by then it was too late as he had experienced significant loss of blood, and he died at 4:30 a.m. Before he was killed, Hassan had been arrested and he was known to have been threatened by security. Hassan's murder was labeled murder by state media but remains unsolved. Hassan's family led calls to cancel the race.

Reactions

The tragedy provoked an outpouring of anger among the majority of Shia population in Bahrain. Working as a citizen journalist, Hassan worked independently and without assistance or support. Hassan's name was one of 82 added to the Journalists Memorial at the Newseum in Washington D.C. for journalists killed in 2012.

Books

Elizabeth Dickenson, Who Shot Ahmed?: A Mystery Unravels in Bahrain's Botched Arab Spring. Development and Aid World News Service (DAWNS), 2013. Ebook, 51-pages.