Event: Al-itahadia Presidential Palace Protests
Occupation: Journalist


Al-Husseini Abu Daif

Before I go down to defend the Revolution, if I become a martyr, all I ask of you is to carry on the Revolution,” these were the last words that Egyptian Journalist Al-Hussaini Abu Daif wrote on his FB profile before he was murdered in what became known as the“Al-Ittihadiah Incident,” during his efforts in reporting on the protests on Muslim Brotherhood opposition on December 12th, 2012.

He was known for his unceasing defense of the poor and joined the “Kefaya” Movement during university while at the Faculty of Law Assiut University. He had participated in numerous protests continued to by utilizing his pen and camera to help defend the oppressed.

To join the big group of journalists that have fallen as martyrs for the homeland.

When he was participating in the protests at his University, it wasn’t imaginable at the time that he would become a journalist, that he would own his pen through which he would express the needs of the poor and the oppressed.

When he moved from Sohag Governorate to Cairo after finishing his studies he started work at “Al-Fajr” newspaper.

He was one of the first journalists to cover Tahrir Square during the 25th of January Revolution. During the clashes, a young man had been shot in front of him and fell to the ground. Al-Hussaini attempted to carry him to the hospital, but the young man was dead on arrival, attempts to resuscitate were to no avail. Ever since that day, Al-Hussaini kept the deceased’s blood-covered jacket, explaining: “So that we would never forget those who died and that we will forever seek their stolen rights.”

Al-Hussaini celebrated his engagement in the Square months after the Revolution and started preparing for his wedding, but his joy was incomplete since the protests, sit-ins, and clashes started once again. Al-Hussaini decided to upgrade his tools and bought a new camera with all his savings.

During his documentation of the “al-Ittihadiah Incident,” he took a bullet to the head and entered a full coma state for one week, dying on December 12th, 2012. His body was moved from the headquarters of the Journalists’ Syndicate to his hometown in Sohag amidst a crowd of people. Currently, his image shines through on the façade of the Journalists’ Syndicate in Cairo to remind everyone of his sacrifice in pursuit of the truth. An award was also created in his name by Journalists’ Syndicate in Cairo.