Journalist victim's horrifying recovered footage shows Egyptian soldier taking aim and shooting him dead
Shocking footage has captured the moment an Egyptian photographer filmed his own death through his lenses.
The grainy footage shows an Egyptian solider aiming and shooting at Ahmed Samir Assem, before the film goes black.
The 26-year-old photojournalist was shot dead on Monday as he took photos outside the Republican Guard building in Cairo, where some believe the ousted president Mohamed Morsi is being held.
He was one of at least 51 people killed when security forces opened fire on a large crowd that had camped outside.
Mr Assam, a freelance photographer was working for Egypt's Al-Horia Wa Al-Adala newspaper.
'At around 6am, a man came into the media centre with a camera covered in blood and told us that one of our colleagues had been injured,' said Ahmed Abu Zeid, the culture editor of Mr Assem’s newspaper told The Daily Telegraph.
'Around an hour later, I received news that Ahmed had been shot by a sniper in the forehead while filming or taking pictures on top of the buildings around the incident
'Ahmed’s camera was the only one which filmed the entire incident from the first moment.
'He had started filming from the beginning of the prayers so he captured the very beginnings and in the video, you can see tens of victims. Ahmed’s camera will remain a piece of evidence in the violations that have been committed.'
The military claimed it opened fire because a ‘terrorist group’ attacked in an attempt to storm the building.
But Mr Morsi’s supporters said the shootings were unprovoked. In an emotional news briefing, Muslim Brotherhood members branded military chief General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi an ‘assassin and a butcher’.
But Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the country’s top Muslim cleric, urged Egyptians to ‘shoulder their responsibility to stop the bloodshed’ instead of ‘dragging the country into civil war’.
Security has now been tightened at key points in the capital. With more pro-Morsi demonstrations planned, tanks, armoured cars and soldiers were seen patrolling the city streets last night.
Al-Shaimaa Younes, who was at the sit-in, said military troops and police forces opened fire on the protesters during early morning prayers.
'They opened fire with live ammunition and lobbed tear gas,' she said by telephone. 'There was panic and people started running. I saw people fall.'
'Women and children had been among the protesters, she said.
Military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Mohammed Ali said initial information indicates that gunmen affiliated with the Brotherhood tried to storm the Republican Guard building shortly after dawn, firing live ammunition and throwing firebombs from a nearby mosque and rooftops.
One police officer on the scene was killed, he said.
Another military spokesman said five from the Brotherhood side were killed.
The grainy footage shows an Egyptian solider aiming and shooting at Ahmed Samir Assem, before the film goes black.
The 26-year-old photojournalist was shot dead on Monday as he took photos outside the Republican Guard building in Cairo, where some believe the ousted president Mohamed Morsi is being held.
He was one of at least 51 people killed when security forces opened fire on a large crowd that had camped outside.
Mr Assam, a freelance photographer was working for Egypt's Al-Horia Wa Al-Adala newspaper.
'At around 6am, a man came into the media centre with a camera covered in blood and told us that one of our colleagues had been injured,' said Ahmed Abu Zeid, the culture editor of Mr Assem’s newspaper told The Daily Telegraph.
'Around an hour later, I received news that Ahmed had been shot by a sniper in the forehead while filming or taking pictures on top of the buildings around the incident
'Ahmed’s camera was the only one which filmed the entire incident from the first moment.
'He had started filming from the beginning of the prayers so he captured the very beginnings and in the video, you can see tens of victims. Ahmed’s camera will remain a piece of evidence in the violations that have been committed.'
The military claimed it opened fire because a ‘terrorist group’ attacked in an attempt to storm the building.
But Mr Morsi’s supporters said the shootings were unprovoked. In an emotional news briefing, Muslim Brotherhood members branded military chief General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi an ‘assassin and a butcher’.
But Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the country’s top Muslim cleric, urged Egyptians to ‘shoulder their responsibility to stop the bloodshed’ instead of ‘dragging the country into civil war’.
Security has now been tightened at key points in the capital. With more pro-Morsi demonstrations planned, tanks, armoured cars and soldiers were seen patrolling the city streets last night.
Al-Shaimaa Younes, who was at the sit-in, said military troops and police forces opened fire on the protesters during early morning prayers.
'They opened fire with live ammunition and lobbed tear gas,' she said by telephone. 'There was panic and people started running. I saw people fall.'
'Women and children had been among the protesters, she said.
Military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Mohammed Ali said initial information indicates that gunmen affiliated with the Brotherhood tried to storm the Republican Guard building shortly after dawn, firing live ammunition and throwing firebombs from a nearby mosque and rooftops.
One police officer on the scene was killed, he said.
Another military spokesman said five from the Brotherhood side were killed.
Source : DailyMail
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