Africa: World’s Longest Arbitrarily Detained Journalist Receives The Edelstam Prize

The Edelstam Prize 2024 is awarded to Mr. Dawit Isaak for his excellent contributions and distinctive braveness in standing up for freedom of expression, one’s beliefs, and within the defence of Human Rights. The prize will likely be awarded throughout a ceremony on the Home of The Aristocracy in Stockholm, Sweden, on nineteenth November 2024. As Dawit Isaak is a prisoner of conscience and the longest-held detained journalist on the planet, he can’t be current. His daughter, Betlehem Isaak, will obtain the prize on his behalf.

Mr. Dawit Isaak, an Eritrean-Swedish journalist and advocate for human rights, co-founded Setit, Eritrea’s first unbiased newspaper. Overtly criticizing the Eritrean authorities and advocating for human rights, democratic reform and free speech, led to his arrest in September 2001, throughout a crackdown on unbiased journalists and politicians calling for elections. Defending human rights and democratic ideas Due to his work with defending human rights and advocating for a democratic reform, Mr. Dawit Isaak, will likely be unable to just accept his prize in Sweden, as he’s the world’s longest-detained journalist, collectively along with his colleagues, and is held incommunicado with out cost or entry to authorized counsel, nor trial, for greater than 23 years. “Mr. Dawit Isaak has by way of his excellent braveness continued to write down and criticize the Eritrean authorities and confirmed nice dedication to freedom of expression and knowledge, regardless of the federal government harassing and threatening him with continued interrogations.

Mr. Dawit Isaak continued his advocacy, past his private curiosity for the ideas of human rights and democracy. His punishment, his perpetual illegal detention, by no means charged with a criminal offense, defenseless and disadvantaged of his fundamental rights with no trial, his de facto standing of civil loss of life, is untenable,” says Caroline Edelstam, Chair of the Edelstam Prize Jury and co-founder of the Edelstam Basis. “The place the press is free and each man capable of learn, all is protected. Our liberty is determined by the liberty of the press, and that can’t be restricted with out being misplaced.” Thomas Jefferson, 1816. Impunity and Enforced Disappearance The Edelstam Basis calls on the Eritrean authorities to launch Dawit Isaak and different prisoners of conscience, imprisoned journalists and reformist politicians. Moreover, the Basis urges the Eritrean authorities to instantly disclose Dawit Isaak’s whereabouts and respect his authorized rights, together with entry to consular help and authorized illustration.

” Mr. Dawit Isaak is the longest-detained journalist on the planet. We’re very involved about his well being and his whereabouts is unknown, he isn’t charged with a criminal offense, and he has been denied entry to his household, consular help, and the correct to authorized counsel – successfully, it’s an enforced disappearance. Eritrea systematically curtails a variety of elementary human rights, together with freedom of expression, affiliation, meeting and knowledge, which is dealt with with censorship, arbitrary arrests, detentions with out trial and systematic and pervasive torture. Mass roundups and arbitrary arrests in addition to the detention of journalists and human proper defenders with out path are unexceptional,” says Caroline Edelstam, Chair of the Edelstam Prize Jury. The Worldwide Neighborhood’s Obligation in placing Stress on Eritrea and Sweden The worldwide neighborhood has an obligation to behave in prevention of genocide and different egregious abuses when home authorities collapse or fail to respect and guarantee elementary human rights. The Edelstam Basis calls on the worldwide neighborhood to behave, for the reason that Eritrean and Swedish governments are failing to guard their very own citizen, Mr. Dawit Isaak, in a humanitarian, safety, and human rights perspective, and should not fulfilling their obligations beneath worldwide legislation. “It is very important discover methods to implement nationwide and worldwide legislation and to advertise accountability for critical abuses of human rights. The place violations have occurred, states should be held accountable. The worldwide neighborhood additionally has a accountability for establishing justice, making certain the safety of victims, and upholding the precept that no one is above the legislation. Democratic international locations ought to put stress on the perpetrator, on this case Eritrea, which is crucial and will have a noticeable impact. Enforced disappearances and persecution of journalists are grave human rights violations.

As James Joyce taught us, we should insist praying: Give us this present day our every day press. These abuses are legal acts, with out exception and no matter circumstance, together with state of battle, emergency, or nationwide safety. In accordance with worldwide legislation, members of the family of the disappeared are acknowledged as victims of enforced disappearance as properly,” says Caroline Edelstam, Chair of the Edelstam Prize Jury. The Edelstam Prize Jury’s Motivation Mr. Dawit Isaak is an Eritrean-Swedish citizen. He was born in Eritrea beneath Ethiopian occupation, and developed a ardour for historical past and literature impressed by his mom. In highschool, he wrote a play about censorship that was banned for difficult the political established order. On the age of 21, he fled to Sweden searching for security throughout Eritrea’s liberation battle, and was obtained as a refugee. The explanation that he fled to Sweden was that he had references from different exiled Eritreans and that he admired Sweden’s free society, media and other people’s capability to freely categorical their opinions with out being punished for it.

After Eritrea gained independence in 1993, Dawit Isaak, regardless of having obtained Swedish citizenship within the meantime, determined to return to Eritrea to assist rebuild his homeland. He grew to become an editor of Setit, Eritrea’s first unbiased newspaper, which criticized the federal government and advocated for human rights and democracy. His work led the federal government to harass and risk him with continued interrogations. Nevertheless, he continued his advocacy, past his private curiosity, for the ideas of human rights and democracy. He didn’t surrender, and for being a brave journalist daring to publish open letters calling for democratic reform in Setit, he ended up being arbitrarily arrested in 2001.

He was held incommunicado with out trial, and denied entry to household, consular help, and the correct to authorized counsel – successfully, an enforced disappearance – throughout a crackdown the place ten different unbiased journalists have been arrested in September 2001 along with eleven reformist politicians, members of the Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki’s authorities, often known as the G 15, urging the federal government to carry open elections and implement a newly drafted Structure. Dawit Isaak went on writing about human rights, open and free elections, and criticizing the federal government for not offering free elections. He has continued to affect the Eritrean folks to care about their elementary rights. Right this moment, Dawit Isaak remains to be in illegal detention and is taken into account to be one of many world’s longest repeatedly detained journalists. He has been held in jail since 2001 with no trial, he has not been charged with a criminal offense, and he has not been permitted to speak to his lawyer.

Amnesty Worldwide has listed Dawit Isaak as a prisoner of conscience. The Edelstam Basis calls on the worldwide neighborhood to behave, for the reason that Eritrean and Swedish governments are failing to guard their very own citizen, Mr. Dawit Isaak, in a humanitarian, safety, and human rights perspective, and should not fulfilling their obligations beneath worldwide legislation. Additional, the Edelstam Basis respectfully asks the authorities of the State of Eritrea to free Dawit Isaak along with different nonetheless imprisoned journalists and members of the G-15, and in any case, to instantly reveal Dawit Isaak’s whereabouts, and to respect directly his proper to be visited and assisted by a lawyer and by Swedish Consular authorities.

The Edelstam Prize

The Edelstam Prize is a Sweden-based worldwide financial award, administrated by the Harald Edelstam Basis. The Edelstam Prize is awarded for excellent contributions and distinctive braveness in standing up for one’s beliefs within the Defence of Human Rights. The Edelstam Prize is known as after, and awarded in reminiscence of, the Swedish diplomat and Ambassador, Harald Edelstam (1913-1989). Harald Edelstam distinguished himself as a diplomat by his skilled competence, his bravery, and his civic braveness within the combat for Human Rights. His memorable acts contributed to saving greater than a thousand lives.

The winner of the Edelstam Prize is usually a non-public individual or an individual who serves in Authorities, worldwide or nationwide organizations. The winner shall be a person who has acted in Ambassador Harald Edelstam’s spirit in a rustic/international locations the place Human Rights, in accordance with worldwide legislation, have been violated. The laureate will need to have proven excellent capabilities in analysing and dealing with complicated conditions and find methods, even unconventional and inventive ones, to defend Human Rights. The candidate has, presumably in a posh state of affairs, been capable of take a decisive function in serving to threatened folks or instantly saving human lives. Civic braveness is a central parameter within the number of the profitable candidate.

Members of the Jury

The worldwide jury is chaired by Ms. Caroline Edelstam, Harald Edelstam’s granddaughter and co-founder of the Edelstam Basis. Different members are the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2003 Choose Shirin Ebadi, who represents Asia. Africa is represented by Dr. Fatou Bensouda, former Chief Prosecutor of the Worldwide Legal Courtroom (ICC). Ambassador Eileen Donahoe, Government Director of International Digital Coverage Incubator at Stanford College’s Middle for Democracy, Growth and the Rule of Regulation and the previous US Ambassador to UN Human Rights Council represents North America. Professor Philip Alston, former UN Particular Rapporteur on excessive poverty and human rights, represents Oceania. Latin America is represented by Justice of the Peace Patricia Linares Prieto, former President of the Particular Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP). Europe is represented by former Choose Baltasar Garzón, who served on Spain’s central legal court docket, who is thought for having indicted the Chilean dictator, Normal Augusto Pinochet for the deaths and torture of 1000’s of victims from Chile and different international locations.