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http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/05/libya.photojournalist.killed/index.html
Photographers are honoring one of their own with an online benefit sale Monday aimed at helping the children of South African photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who was reportedly killed in Libya in early April.
The sale marks the 5-month anniversary of the death of Hammerl, who was last seen by fellow journalists on April 5, 2011, after being shot in the stomach by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi.
The online benefit precedes a memorial service for Hammerl on Thursday in London, said Bronwyn Friedlander, a family spokesman. Hammerl's remains have not been located, he said.
The sale at http://www.friendsofanton.org/ includes images from some of the world's most renowned photographers, including Pulitzer Prize winner Greg Marinovich and National Geographic's David Burnett.
Among those also donating pictures is photographer Manuel Varela, who goes by the name Manu Brabo, one of the last people believed to have seen Hammerl alive.
"What happened to Anton was horrific. I feel compelled to help his family in any way that I can," Brabo said in a statement.
Gadhafi's son reaches out
Anti-Gadhafi forces surround desert town
Hammerl, who holds South African and Austrian citizenship, was initially believed to have been detained along with Brabo and journalists Clare Morgana Gillis, a freelancer for the Christian Science Monitor, the Atlantic and USA Today; and James Foley of GlobalPost.
When Gillis, Foley and Brabo were released along with British journalist Nigel Chandler, they contacted Hammerl's wife to tell her what happened, according to interviews they gave after their release to GlobalPost and the Atlantic.
Gillis and Foley said in the interviews they were traveling with Hammerl, following then-rebel forces toward the frontlines near al-Brega, when they were attacked by Gadhafi's forces.
The two said in the interviews that Hammerl was shot in the abdomen by Gadhafi's forces. They last saw him lying in a pool of blood as they were taken away, according to the interviews.
Hammerl was a former photographer for The Saturday Star in Johannesburg. He had gone to cover the fighting in Libya in late March as a freelance photographer.
Since February, the Committee to Protect Journalists has tallied dozens of attacks on journalists in Libya, including five deaths.
Among those also killed were Oscar nominee Tim Hetherington and acclaimed photojournalist Chris Hondros, who were struck by a rocket-propelled grenade while chronicling the violence in the besieged port city of Misrata.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented the deaths of 861 journalists over the past two decades. Of those, 150 were killed in combat.
"The only way to capture the truth is to get close to it, and sometimes journalists like Anton Hammerl end up paying the ultimate price," said Maria Salazar-Ferro, CPJ's Impunity Campaign and Journalist Assistance Program coordinator.
The photos donated for the online benefit are a diverse mix that include a haunting black and white image of children fleeing fighting, a picture of an American soldier dragging a wounded comrade in Afghanistan and a candid photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan with their interpreters at a summit in 1985.
The money from the sale will be used for the education of Hammerl's three children, Friedlander said.
Photographers are honoring one of their own with an online benefit sale Monday aimed at helping the children of South African photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who was reportedly killed in Libya in early April.
The sale marks the 5-month anniversary of the death of Hammerl, who was last seen by fellow journalists on April 5, 2011, after being shot in the stomach by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi.
The online benefit precedes a memorial service for Hammerl on Thursday in London, said Bronwyn Friedlander, a family spokesman. Hammerl's remains have not been located, he said.
The sale at http://www.friendsofanton.org/ includes images from some of the world's most renowned photographers, including Pulitzer Prize winner Greg Marinovich and National Geographic's David Burnett.
Among those also donating pictures is photographer Manuel Varela, who goes by the name Manu Brabo, one of the last people believed to have seen Hammerl alive.
"What happened to Anton was horrific. I feel compelled to help his family in any way that I can," Brabo said in a statement.
Gadhafi's son reaches out
Anti-Gadhafi forces surround desert town
Hammerl, who holds South African and Austrian citizenship, was initially believed to have been detained along with Brabo and journalists Clare Morgana Gillis, a freelancer for the Christian Science Monitor, the Atlantic and USA Today; and James Foley of GlobalPost.
When Gillis, Foley and Brabo were released along with British journalist Nigel Chandler, they contacted Hammerl's wife to tell her what happened, according to interviews they gave after their release to GlobalPost and the Atlantic.
Gillis and Foley said in the interviews they were traveling with Hammerl, following then-rebel forces toward the frontlines near al-Brega, when they were attacked by Gadhafi's forces.
The two said in the interviews that Hammerl was shot in the abdomen by Gadhafi's forces. They last saw him lying in a pool of blood as they were taken away, according to the interviews.
Hammerl was a former photographer for The Saturday Star in Johannesburg. He had gone to cover the fighting in Libya in late March as a freelance photographer.
Since February, the Committee to Protect Journalists has tallied dozens of attacks on journalists in Libya, including five deaths.
Among those also killed were Oscar nominee Tim Hetherington and acclaimed photojournalist Chris Hondros, who were struck by a rocket-propelled grenade while chronicling the violence in the besieged port city of Misrata.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented the deaths of 861 journalists over the past two decades. Of those, 150 were killed in combat.
"The only way to capture the truth is to get close to it, and sometimes journalists like Anton Hammerl end up paying the ultimate price," said Maria Salazar-Ferro, CPJ's Impunity Campaign and Journalist Assistance Program coordinator.
The photos donated for the online benefit are a diverse mix that include a haunting black and white image of children fleeing fighting, a picture of an American soldier dragging a wounded comrade in Afghanistan and a candid photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan with their interpreters at a summit in 1985.
The money from the sale will be used for the education of Hammerl's three children, Friedlander said.
