20 August 2002

JOURNALIST WIN 2002 FREEDOM TO WRITE AWARDS


PEN Center USA West (PEN) has awarded its 2002 Freedom to Write Awards to the Ethiopian Free Journalists' Association (EFJA) and Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The awards are given annually to writers who have defended freedom of expression, produced work in the face of extreme adversity and fought against censorship.

In awarding the prize, PEN says "in spite of overwhelming odds, [EFJA's] reporters and editors have revealed governmental and military excesses against the Ethiopian people … at enormous personal cost." EFJA was formed in 1993 and became a member of IFEX in 2001.

Anna Politkovskaya is being honoured for her reporting on the civil war in Chechnya for Russia's "Novaya Gazeta." She has received numerous death threats for her work, especially after she attempted to investigate allegations last year that the Russian army was torturing Chechens in custody, says PEN.

Politkovskaya and EFJA President Kifle Mulat will accept the awards at a ceremony in Los Angeles on 23 October.

For more details see
www.ifex.org or visit PEN's website: www.penusa.org.




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Also from the Communiqué, 20 August 2002

INTERNATIONAL: TO HOLD BIENNIAL CONFERENCE IN 2003 20 August 2002 INTERNATIONAL: NOMINATIONS FOR 2003 GOLDEN PEN OF FREEDOM AWARD 20 August 2002 SUDAN: IMS INITIATES SUPPORT FOR INDEPENDENT MEDIA 20 August 2002 BELARUS: ARTICLE 19 TO HOLD ELECTION-MONITORING SEMINAR 20 August 2002 SIERRA LEONE: CPJ ASSESSES STATE OF THE MEDIA 20 August 2002 VENEZUELA: JOURNALISTS CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE OF CHÁVEZ-MEDIA CONFLICT 20 August 2002 TURKEY: MEDIA CONCENTRATION INTIMIDATES JOURNALISTS: IFJ REPORT 20 August 2002 INTERNATIONAL: MUST NOT BE "GIGANTIC TALKING SHOP", IFJ WARNS 20 August 2002
 
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