Harry Burton (journalist)
Harry Burton | |
---|---|
Victoria | |
Born | Brisbane, QLD, Australia | 23 January 1968
Died | 19 November 2001 Afghanistan | (aged 33)
Occupation | Journalist |
Harry Burton (23 January 1968 – 19 November 2001) was an Australian journalist and cameraman who was kidnapped by the Taliban on the highway to Kabul, Afghanistan and then murdered. Three other journalists suffered the same fate.
Burton, 33 years old when he was killed, was a latecomer to journalism and quit his job three years earlier in Melbourne to get involved in the profession. A scholarship fund was set up in his name by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club to support training for reporters from remote parts of Indonesia, particularly camera operators.
Biography
Burton was born in Brisbane and studied agricultural sciences at what was Dookie Agricultural College later to become part of the University of Melbourne.
He had worked in Indonesia earlier in 2001 covering the
He was one of 19 journalists briefly detained in the Fiji coup of 2000.[3] After his release he was made a full-time cameraman by Reuters in January 2000.[2]
Death
Burton moved to Afghanistan to cover the ongoing conflict there, working for Reuters at the time. In November of that year he was riding in a Jeep from
Murder trial
A Kabul court sentenced three men to death for these murders in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Two brothers, Mahmood Zar Jan and Abdul Wahid, were sentenced in 2005 and another, Reza Khan, was sentenced to death on 20 November 2004.[5]
Family
Burton's girlfriend was Joanne Collins, who is also a journalist. Burton's father, also called Harry, is a scientist, and his mother, Anne (who predeceased her son) was a social worker. He had four sisters and three brothers.
Harry Burton senior was a judge for the ADF photography award named in his son's honour.[6]
See also
References
- ^ Bowling, Mark "Correspondent discusses cameraman's death", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 20 November 2001
- ^ a b Aglionby, John (22 November 2001). "Obituary: Harry Burton". The Guardian (UK).
- ^ "Attacks on the Press in 2000 - Fiji". UNHCR. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- ^ McCarthy, Rory (20 November 2001). "Journalists Believed Dead After Ambush". The Guardian (UK).
- Sydney Morning Herald, 5 August 2004
- ^ Rodgers, Sgt. Troy. The Harry Burton Memorial Award, Australian Department of Defense