For
sharing his thoughts on politics, religion and freedom in his blog
"Free Saudi Liberals", Saudi Arabian Blogger Raif Badawi
was sentenced to ten years of prison, a fine of about 200.000
Euros and one thousand lashes. In order to honor outstanding
commitment for freedom of expression, international
media alliance (IMA) together with Badawi's wife Ensaf
Haidar initiated the Raif Badawi Award for courageous journalists.
The
winner will be announced on October 17th at the Frankfurt Book
Fair. The award ceremony will take place during the gala
"Bundesmedienball" on November 13th in Berlin, a yearly event for
media professionals.
The Raif Badawi Award for courageous journalists is hosted by international media alliance, co-organized by Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit and financially supported by Bundesmedienball, Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels and Ullstein Buchverlage.
An independent jury has nominated five brave journalists and
organizations from the Arab world that campaign for freedom of
expression.
Among the candidates is:
Reda
Fhelboom:
A journalist from Libya who risks his life every day for
reporting on human rights issues
Reda Fhelboom started his career at the university. Being a chemical engineer he is a „self-made“ reporter, inspired by the events of the Arab Spring. Currently, Fhelboom is working as a freelance journalist for local and international newspapers as well as online portals, e. g. The Washington Times. His journalistic work focuses on human rights issues in Libya, not shying away from controversial issues like homophobia or domestic violence against women. As an active member of the NGO Libyan Centre for the Defence of Freedom of Journalists (HESEN) Fhelboom is highly engaged for freedom of expression and freedom of the press. HESN documents human rights violations against journalists, bloggers and media professionals in Libya and supports journalists by conducting trainings.
Fhelboom addresses the effects of religious extremism on democracy and freedom of the press. Many times, he has been attacked and threatened publicly by various Libyan parties and groups of extremists because of his critical position on religious questions. In 2013, Sheik Sadeq Al-Ghariani issued a fatwa in Libya against Reda Fhelboom and the TV Channel Libya International, accusing them of “promoting the Shiite doctrine and atheism and defaming Islam“, after Fhelboom interviewed a women’s rights defender about the wearing of the veil.
Most recently in August 2015, Reda Fhelboom's commitment for human rights became his undoing. On a conference for civil society organizations in Tunis Fhelboom had argued that human rights standards should be the basis of any political solution in Libya. He was abducted and maltreated by armed men on his way back to Libya. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya was able to effect his release.
Besides Reda Fhelboom, other candidates for the Raif Badawi Award are: