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Islamic State executes first female citizen journalist Ruqia Hassan in Raqqa, Syria

Speed News Desk | Updated on: 14 February 2017, 5:11 IST
QUICK PILL
  • Hassan is the fifth journalist to be killed by the group since October.
  • The exact date of Ruqia Hassan\'s execution is unknown, but her presence on social media stopped abruptly on July 21, 2015.
  • Jihadists hacked her Facebook account and has kept using it for months.

According to reports by The Independent, Islamic State has reportedly executed citizen journalist Ruqia Hassan for working inside its territory in Syria.

This marks the first execution of a female citizen journalist by the ISIS. Hassan's pseudonym on social media was Nisan Ibrahim and was an independent reporter.

She studied philosophy at Aleppo University and joined the opposition to Bashar al-Assad's regime when the revolution began in Raqqa.

After the Islamic State entered the city, she refused to leave and began reporting on human rights abuses occurring within the city.

Abu Mohammed, founder of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS) has confirmed Hassan's death and shared her last known message:

"I'm in Raqqa and I received death threats, and when Isis [arrests] me and kills me it's ok because they will cut my head and I have dignity its better than I live in humiliation with Isis [sic]."

Furat al-Wafaa, an independent journalist was quoted as saying, "The reason for Hassan's execution is that ISIS want their fighters and supporters to know that the Islamic State is capable of taking revenge against those who speak against them."

Hassan is the fifth journalist to be killed by the group since October.

In one of her final posts on Facebook, she had mocked the Islamic State for banning Wi-Fi hotspots in the city of Raqqa. Her post, translated by Syria Direct, reads: "Go ahead and cut off our internet, our messenger pigeons won't complain."

The exact date of her execution is unknown, but her presence on social media stopped abruptly on July 21, 2015.

It has also emerged that Islamic State jihadists hacked her Facebook account, and maintained it for months after her death in a bid to trap other opponents, according local activist group.

First published: 7 January 2016, 12:39 IST