Damanhur, Egypt — Biographies from the Committee to Protect Journalists of the media workers killed in Egypt in 2013:
Abdel Raouf, Beheira bureau chief for the state paper Al-Ahram, was killed when Egyptian soldiers at a checkpoint opened fire on his vehicle as a nightly military-imposed curfew was about to begin. The attack, which took place in the Nile Delta city of Damanhur, also wounded Hamid al-Barbary, Beheira bureau chief for the state newspaper Al-Gomhuria.
Al-Barbary told CPJ that Abdel Raouf had offered to drive home several journalists after a joint meeting with the new governor of Beheira. The two of them were the only ones left in the car as they approached the checkpoint. Al-Barbary told CPJ that soldiers gestured to them, telling them to leave the checkpoint, so Abdel Raouf turned the car around. The soldiers then opened fire on the car, al-Barbary said, and Abdel Raouf was hit in the head. The car swerved and hit a light pole.
An army spokesman issued a statement on the night of the attack, claiming the car had "raised suspicion by driving at high speed during curfew hours near a military checkpoint without reacting to calls or to warning gunshots in the air." The statement also said the soldiers thought the car was trying to escape from the checkpoint.
Al-Barbary disputed the statement, telling CPJ that "there were no warning gunshots or even any calls for us to stop" after the car turned around. He said the shooting occurred shortly after 6 p.m.--which was before the curfew and not after, as the army had claimed.
The curfew, which begins every night at 7 p.m., was imposed by authorities after security forces dispersed two sit-ins supportive of ousted President Mohamed Morsi on August 14, igniting a week of violence that left approximately 1,000 dead. Journalists are officially exempt from the curfew.
The Egyptian Journalists Syndicate said it received several complaints by journalists saying they were harassed by soldiers at checkpoints despite showing their ID cards. News accounts have also reported cases of Egyptian soldiers opening fire on civilians at checkpoints during curfew hours. The attack on the journalists' car took place on the same day that armed militants killed at least 25 Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai city of Rafah, according to news reports.
The military said it has opened an investigation into the incident, reports said. A day after al-Barbary spoke to the press about the shooting, the army issued another statement, accusing the journalist of opening fire on the checkpoint. The prosecutor general subsequently ordered al-Barbary to be taken into custody. He was released two days later, according to news reports.
Mosaab al-Shami Rassd News Network August 14, 2013, in Cairo, Egypt
Al-Shami, a photographer for Rassd News Network, was shot in the chest by a sniper while trying to escape gunfire from security forces dispersing a sit-in demonstration in Nasr City in support of former President Mohamed Morsi, the network's director, Smahy Mustafa, told CPJ. The Rassd network had sharply criticized the ouster of Morsi.
The raid to disperse the Rabaa Al-Adawiya sit-in sparked a week of clashes that left nearly 1,000 dead and many more injured. At least two other journalists, Sky News' Mick Deane and Al-Akhbar's Ahmed Abdel Gawad, were also killed while covering the events that day.
Ahmed Abdel Gawad Al-Akhbar, Misr25 August 14, 2013, in Cairo, Egypt
Gawad, a reporter for the state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper, was shot while covering a raid by Egyptian security forces on a sit-in demonstration at Rabaa Al-Adawiya, in Nasr City, Cairo. The demonstrators were supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. The ensuing clashes sparked a week of violence that left nearly 1,000 dead and many more inured.
Gawad was also the editorial manager of the Muslim Brotherhood's TV station, Misr25, according to news outlets affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and Ahmed Subaie, a spokesman for the organization, who spoke to CPJ.
At least two other journalists, Sky News' Mick Deane and Rassd News Network's Mosaab al-Shami, were also killed while covering the bloody events of August 14.
Mick Deane Sky News August 14, 2013, in Cairo, Egypt
Sky News cameraman Mick Deane was shot and killed as Egyptian security forces stormed a sit-in demonstration at Rabaa Adawiya, in Nasr City, Cairo, on the morning of Wednesday, Aug, 14. The demonstrators were supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Around 149 people were killed in clashes in the capital and ensuing violence around the country, the Egyptian Health Ministry said, according to news reports. The Muslim Brotherhood said the death toll was much higher.
Deane, 61, had worked for Sky for 15 years, based in Washington, D.C., and then Jerusalem, the network reported. He had been covering the clashes in Egypt with Sky's Middle East correspondent, Sam Kiley. None of the other team members were hurt, the broadcaster said.
The BBC reported that Deane was born in Hannover, Germany. The Washington Post said he was the husband of former Post reporter Daniela Deane and that the couple have two sons.
Ahmed Assem el-Senousy Freedom and Justice July 8, 2013, in Cairo, Egypt
Ahmed Assem el-Senousy, a photographer for the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice newspaper, was killed while covering clashes in Cairo, according to news reports.
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El-Senousy, 26, was shot by a sniper after photographing security forces firing on pro-Morsi protesters, Freedom and Justice reported. El-Senousy had been covering clashes between security forces and pro-Morsi protesters at the Republican Guards headquarters, which left at least 54 dead, according to news reports. The protests came the week after the Egyptian military announced the removal of former president Mohamed Morsi.
Abeer al-Saady, vice chairman of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, told CPJ that his organization would be granting el-Senousy an honorary membership and would be supporting his family with a pension.
Salah al-Din Hassan Shaab Masr June 29, 2013, in Port Said, Egypt
Salah al-Din Hassan, 37-year-old reporter with independent news website Shaab Masr (Egyptian People), was killed by a homemade bomb thrown by an unidentified person while covering a demonstration against President Mohamed Morsi in the city of Port Said, the website reported. The bomb was hurled at protesters in Shuhada Square; Hassan picked it up to throw it away but it exploded, killing him and injuring 16 others, according to news reports. Ayda Sobh, Hassan's mother, blamed Morsi's supporters, according to the reports.
Hassan's death came as millions of Egyptians took to the streets that weekend seeking Morsi's resignation. At least 16 people were killed and 781 injured across the country on June 30 alone, news reports said, citing the Ministry of Health.
