Man who created 3D version of Palmyra before city was destroyed by ISIS killed by Assad regime

Executed: Bassel Khartabil was one of Syria's most famous campaigners
Joi Ito
Eleanor Rose3 August 2017

The man who built the New Palmyra project - a 3D version of the ancient city before it was razed by Islamic State forces - was executed by forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad, it was confirmed this week.

Bassel Khartabil Safadi, a Palestinian-Syrian software developer and activist, was said by human rights groups to have been killed by members of Assad's regime.

Mr Khartabil's wife, human rights lawyer Noura Ghazi Safadi, posted a tribute to her "hero" husband on Facebook, writing: "This is a loss for Syria. This is loss for Palestine. This is my loss."

She said the free speech activist was killed a few days after disappearing from the infamous Adra prison in Damascus back in October 2015.

Mr Khartabil was listed in Foreign Policy magazine’s Top 100 Global Thinkers in 2012, and won the Index on Censorship Digital Freedom Award in 2013.

Tribute: Mr Khartabil's wife wrote on Facebook after his death was confirmed
Christopher Adams/Creative Commons

He founded the Aiki Lab hackerspace in Damascus in 2010 and took part in international projects such as the Arabic-language Wikipedia site and the Syrian version of Creative Commons.

His cultural heritage mission to create a virtual version of Palmyra found worldwide acclaim.

While his whereabouts were still unknown, groups from Amnesty International to Jimmy Wales Foundation issued pleas for his release.

Barry Threw, director of New Palmyra, wrote: "Needless to say, along with all of the international community whose lives he touched, we were shocked and saddened to learn of the outrageous, unwarranted, extrajudicial killing of our dear friend and collaborator."

A spokeswoman for Reporters Without Borders said: "After this news of yet another shocking crime, we reiterate our call to the UN Security council to refer crimes against journalists in Syria to the International Criminal Court."

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