Back to Index

INDEX on Censorship honours courageous free speech advocates
International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX)
Extracted from IFEX COMMUNIQUÉ VOL 15 NO 12
March 31, 2006

A Chinese Communist Party official, an Iranian filmmaker, a Tunisian journalist and a Zimbabwean lawyer were among several individuals honoured last week at Index on Censorship's 2006 Freedom of Expression Awards.

The awards recognise people who have made a significant contribution to free expression over the past year. Twenty-five individuals and organisations were shortlisted.

The Index on Censorship Award for Whistleblowing went to Huang Jingao, communist party official in Southern China who was sentenced to life in prison in November 2005 for using the Internet to denounce high-level official corruption. Bahman Ghobadi won the Index Film Award for depicting the horrors of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq in the film "Turtles Can Fly".

Tunisian journalist Sihem Bensedrine was awarded the Index/Hugo Young Journalism Award for bringing attention to human rights abuses in her home country. She has been jailed for her opinions and faces regular harassment from the Tunisian authorities. Zimbabwean lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa won the Index Law Award for her work in defending journalists in Zimbabwe, despite frequent threats to her safety.

A new prize, the T.R. Fyvel Book Award, was given to French journalist Jean Hatzfield for his books "Into The Quick of Life: The Rwandan Genocide: The Survivors Speak" and "A Time for Machetes: The Rwandan Genocide: The Killers Speak".

For more details, including pictures of the award winners, visit:
http://www.indexonline.org/en/news/articles/2006/1/index-on-censorship-free-expression-awards-2.shtml

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP