Al-Musalama was killed while filming
clashes in the southern Syrian town of Daraa, according to the Syrian Journalists Association and local news reports.
Abo Kasem, a member of the group Revolutionaries
of Daraa Al-Muhata-Tariq al-Sadd, told CPJ that al-Musalama filmed local events
and clashes in the city for the group’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
The group’s YouTube channel has garnered nearly
400,000 views since its founding in October 2011 and includes coverage of video
footage of events around the city of Daraa. Its videos have been used by local news outlets,
including the opposition network Ugarit News. The group is also a member of the
umbrella organization Consolidated Media Assembly, which coordinates opposition media in the city of
Daraa.
Abo Kasem told CPJ that he was with
al-Musalama on the day he died. He said that al-Musalama filmed the clashes
using his digital camera until the camera’s memory card became full, at which
point he left to upload the footage on the Internet. He was headed back to
resume filming when a shell exploded in front of him and he was hit by shrapnel,
according to Abo Kasem.
Abo Kasem shared a video with CPJ that purportedly showed Al-Musalama being evacuated by a stretcher
after being hit.
Abo Kasem told CPJ that al-Musalama was a
journalism student prior to the Syrian revolution and left his studies to cover
protests in Daraa. A friend of al-Musalama, who is a member of a local media group in Daraa, confirmed Abo Kasem’s statements
and said that al-Musalama had also co-founded a revolutionary magazine in Daraa
called Mehd Al-Thawra (Cradle of
the Revolution).