Imprisoned Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu is the
winner of the 2013 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Ms Alemu
was recommended by an independent international jury of media professionals in
recognition of her “exceptional courage, resistance and commitment to freedom
of expression.” The
Jury took note of Reeyot Alemu’s contribution to numerous and independent
publications. She wrote critically about political and social issues, focusing
on the root causes of poverty, and gender equality. She worked for several
independent media. In 2010 she founded her own publishing house and a monthly
magazine called Change, both of which were subsequently closed. In June 2011,
while working as a regular columnist for Feteh, a national weekly newspaper, Ms
Alemu was arrested. She is currently serving a five year sentence in
Kality prison. The UNESCO Guillermo
Cano World Press Freedom Prize was created in 1997 by UNESCO’s
Executive Board. It is awarded annually during the celebration of World Press
Freedom Day on 3 May, which will take place this year in Costa Rica. The
Prize honours the work of an individual or an organization which has made a
notable contribution to the defence and /or promotion of freedom of expression
anywhere in the world, especially if risks have been involved. Candidates are
proposed by UNESCO Member States, and regional or international organizations
active in the fields of journalism and freedom of expression. Laureates
are chosen by a jury
whose members are appointed for a once renewable three-year term by the
Director-General of UNESCO. Source (UNESCO)
Thursday, April 18, 2013
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