Richard Mills found dead in Harare

Richard Mills, a photographer with The Times newspaper, was found dead in a hotel room in Harare on July 14 after a suspected suicide. The Belfast Telegraph reports that Richard officially died of “asphyxiation by hanging”. Richard was working on an undercover assignment in Zimbabwe when he was found dead. He had previously worked in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and was a friend of many Frontline Club members. There will be a funeral service for Richard at Roselawn Cemetery on 29 July at 3pm. The Times newspaper has an obituary,

His portraits, especially of children and young people from such violence-torn areas, reflected in their simplicity his own compassion for humanity. Reporters who worked with him noticed that he always focused on his subjects’ eyes. He had a gift for friendship — the pidgin Arabic with which he befriended taxi drivers in Arab countries was legendary among his colleagues — and a renowned sense of humour. link

Updated Wed 30 July, 2008
Hundreds attend the funeral service in Ireland,

Anthony Loyd, war correspondent for The Times, who had covered stories with Mr Mills in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in a eulogy: ”It was never just a job to Richard. It was about feeling. In some way or another, he felt for everyone in every frame of every photo he ever shot.” link