Bassem Fawaz al-Zabi
Year: 2013
Nationality: Syria
Killed by:
Location: Daraa, Syria
Press organization: Freelance
What's Bassem Fawaz al-Zabi's story?
Al-Zabi was shot in the chest by a sniper while covering clashes betweenthe Syrian army and rebel forces in the neighborhood of Tafas in the southerncity of Daraa, according to regional and local newsoutlets. It was not immediately clear if al-Zabi was targeted by a sniper affiliatedwith the Syrian regime, or was shot by a gunman on the side of the rebelforces. Al-Zabi was a third-year dental student at Damascus University,but left his studies to become a journalist and expose abuses committed by thegovernment, according to his mother who spoke to the pro-opposition TV outletTafas News. He regularly filmed clashes between the army and rebel forces inthe neighborhood of Tafas and contributed to several local news outlets includingTafas News, according tonews reports. With an effective ban on foreign journalists and with localmedia neutralized, international media relied heavily on reporting and footageshot by al-Zabi and other citizen journalists.
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