The death of acclaimed photographer, Mohamed Ben Khalifa, who worked with RT’s Ruptly and AP, had left his Libyan colleagues shaken as dozens of journalists took to the street to denounce violence against the media.

In Tripoli, some of protestors had their mouths symbolically taped. The journalists held portraits of Ben Khalifa and slogans in Arabic, English and French languages, reading “Libya without media” and “Journalism is not a crime.”

“He died while he was defending and demanding our rights as journalists,” fellow reporter, Tariq al-Houni, said of his slain colleague.

The rallying media people in Benghazi issued a joint statement, saying: “We condemn the latest violations committed by armed militias who try to intimidate and repress journalists.”

Ben Khalifa was killed in a shelling near Tripoli on Saturday as he was covering the resent spike in violence between the rivaling armed groups. The 35-year-old is survived by his wife and six-month-old daughter.

Also on rt.com Acclaimed photographer & video journalist working for RT’s video agency killed in Libya clashes

One of the leading photographers and photo journalists in Libya had been working with RT’s Ruptly video agency since 2016, producing dozens of stories about the fighting in the country and plight of migrants, fleeing for Europe.

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