Lucas Dolega

He was fatally injured on the same day that Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled Tunisia for exile.

• Name — Lucas Dolega • Birth Name — Loucas von Zabiensky-Mebrouk • Born — 19 August 1978 • Birthplace — Paris, France • Died — 17 January 2011 • Place of death — Tunis, Tunisia • Death Cause — Tear gas canister • Employer — European Pressphoto Agency • Occupation — Photojournalist • Other Names — Lucas Mebrouk Dolega • Years Active — 2006–2011

Dolega was born in Paris on 19 August 1978 to a German mother and a French father, a journalist and a doctor respectively. He grew up in Paris, before moving to Tangier in Morocco. He had French and German citizenship, and started work as a photographer for European Pressphoto Agency in April 2006. He was based in Paris, covered a variety of stories in Europe, and in 2008 photographed the Congo. Dolega was 32 years old when he died.

On 14 January 2011, the day after Dolega arrived in Tunis, and at the end of a demonstration on Avenue Bourguiba, he was within a group of journalists at the corner of rue Gandhi and rue de Marseille. He was hit in the head by a tear gas canister, about 20 cm long and 5 cm diameter, reportedly fired by police at short range and horizontally toward a group of photographers. He was taken first to a clinic and then to Tunis Rabta Neurologic Hospital where he was operated on but died on 17 January. Fellow photographer and friend Olivier Laban-Mattei brought Dolega's corpse back to France.

Dolega was the first of a number of journalists who were killed over the course of the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011. He was killed while on assignment. He is among a group of photojournalists who were killed while covering protests, such as Hiro Muramoto, cameraman and journalist shot by a soldier in Bangkok, 2010; or Kenji Nagai, a photojournalist who was shot by a soldier in Rangoon, 2007.

Lucas Dolega is mentioned in the poem "A Love Letter from Emilie Blachère to Rémi Ochlik", written by Paris Match journalist Emilie Blachère on the occasion of the first anniversary of Rémi Ochlik's death. She writes: "My angel, give Lucas a kiss for me. Take care of yourself. Take care of us." After she read the poem on BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House news program, radio host Paddy O'Connell broke down emotionally and could not bring himself to continue the news broadcast for around 12 seconds. Rémi Ochlik was a friend and colleague of Lucas Dolega, he was with Dolega when Dolega died, and he worked on establishing an award in Dolega's honor after his friend's death.

Lucas Dolega is recorded with the occupation photojournalist. Recorded as photographer, journalist and photojournalist. Recorded at birth as Loucas Boris Shtouky Mebrouk. Identity and origins. The authorities additionally record the heading Lucas von Zabiensky Mebrouk Dolega. His recorded languages were German and French.