Female journalist Ruqia Hassan executed by Islamic State

Although the 30 year-old female journalist, whose real name was Ruqia Hassan but she wrote under the pen name Nissan Ibrahim, was executed in September, news of her death broke recently. Activists confirmed that Ruqia had been executed by IS militants ever since the banned outfit made claims this week on social media that she was alive.

“Nissan Ibrahim” Syrian activist from #Raqqa has been executed in Raqqa city by #IS #RIP . pic.twitter.com/KM8dEILMtr

— الرقة تذبح بصمت (@Raqqa_SL) January 2, 2016

Ruqia was a defiant journalist who mainly wrote about life in the Syrian city of Raqqa, which was often the bedrock of conflict between Islamic State, the Free Syrian Army and the Coalition forces. She was accused by Islamic State of spying for their rival Syrian group, the Free Syrian Army.

She was held by Islamic State militants in August last year on charges that she was in contact with members of the Free Syrian Army, which the IS consider as opponents, rivals and traitors. Ruqia frequently used her Facebook account to narrate the ordeal that residents of Raqqa had to experience in the war-torn city and how she felt about it. In one post, she wrote:-

Ok if we don’t want Daesh … And we don’t want the coalition bombing Daesh … And we don’t want the Free Syria[n] Army to fight Daesh … ‪Then what do we want exactly

According to activists from the region, Ruqia was not the only female journalist to have been executed by the Islamic State and that identity of others had not been disclosed. Her Facebook profile has also been kept open and activists also suspect that Islamic State representatives are using it to find out whom the slain female journalist had been in contact with.

Here are the final words of Ruqia from her Facebook account, tweeted by a user Abu Mohammed:-

1-the last words from Nissan Ibrahim Syrian activist who got executed by #ISIS was ” im in Raqqa and I received pic.twitter.com/4CPswO2LLI — الرقة تذبح بصمت (@Raqqa_SL) January 2, 2016

#Raqqa 2-“Death threats and when #ISIS will Arrest me and kill me its ok Because they will cut my head and i have Dignity its better than”

— Abu Mohammed (@Raqqa_sl1) January 2, 2016

#Raqqa 3-I live in Humiliation with #ISIS #RIP Nissan — Abu Mohammed (@Raqqa_sl1) January 2, 2016