Arab journalists awarded Samir Kassir prize for press freedom

Six Lebanese reporters shortlisted for investigative category

By Simona Sikimic (Daily Star staff) – Two Arab journalists were awarded the prestigious Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press at lavish ceremony in Beirut, on Wednesday.

Libyan journalist, Mustafa Fetouri, topped the “Best Opinion Article” category for his work critiquing the Libyan construction industry which appeared last November in UAE’s The National.

The “Best Investigative Report” prize went to young Egyptian reporter, Safaa Saleh, whose piece “Tobacco Girls,” published in the Egyptian weekly Al-Ousbouh, exposed the deplorable working conditions endured by young female Egyptian tobacco factory workers

The award, now in its 5th year, is handed out annually on June 2 to commemorate the assassination of famed journalist and civil rights activists, Samir Kassir, who was killed in a car bomb blast in Beirut in 2005.

Operating in cooperation with the European Union and the Samir Kassir Foundation, the prize has acquired international standing and has been likened to the Middle East’s version of the Pulitzer Prize.

It is awarded for exemplary journalism and is intended to promote free speech and human rights in the Middle East. It is open to all print, including electronic, journalists who are citizens of the recently enlarged list of 18 participating Middle East and North African countries.

“Samir Kassir’s life was taken away by prejudice and injustice,” Ambassador Patrick Laurent, the Head of the European Union Delegation to Lebanon told the gathering of dignitaries assembled for the ceremony. “But his life will life will always be remembered as a symbol of our equal shared values across the Mediterranean.”

Human rights, free press and freedom of expression have no boundaries and are a universal human right, Laurent explained.

Samir Kassir, one of the founding members of the Democratic Left Movement, is best remembered for his outspoken support for Palestinian civil rights and for his calls for greater regional democratization. He was also a staunch opponent of Syria’s occupation of Lebanon and campaigned tirelessly for its withdrawal.

Although an investigation into the assassination is ongoing, no suspects have as yet been indicted in the murder of Kassir, who was of Syrian-Palestinian descent but held both Lebanese and French nationalities.

“Who killed Samir Kassir?” journalist Fetouri asked in his acceptance speech, reiterating the illustrious title and lines of an article by Beirut-based journalist, Robert Fisk, who wrote about the murder.

Praising Kassir for his work on exposing corruption, Fetouri, went on to call him “the son of the nation,” a product of a democratic and liberal society and a “candle that will never be put out.”

“He did not die, he is still alive because we are all here despite his death,” Fetouri said.

While praising Beirut for hosting this award, Samir Kassir Foundation director Gisèle Khoury-Kassir, speaking at the event, went on to criticize the state of regional press freedom and called for the prioritization of liberty across the Arab world and for the Palestinian people.

“The situation which the Arab world living through is not a destiny,” Khoury-Kassir said. “We need an intifada inside the intifada to reach freedom and democracy.”

Lebanese journalists featured prominently in the investigative reporting category, securing six out of the 16 shortlisted places out of an 85 submitted applications.

Georges Achi, Mohammad Abi Samra, Anne-Marie El-Hage, Roula Douglas Azar, Mohamad Barakat and Johaina Khaldieh all won praise from the jury for their hard work and commitment to the promotion of the freedom of speech.

The opinion category, which had 61 entries, was much more regionally balanced. Only one Lebanese journalist, Toni Hadchiti, was selected for his piece “The rise of Lebanon through a revolution in its people’s conscience” published in Al-Balad newspaper. Tunisian-born Bassam Bounenni was also nominated for his article “Dictatorship, Tunisia’s undeserved fate” which featured in The Daily Star.

The hopefuls were chosen by an established panel of judges who reviewed articles without names of applicants or publications to ensure fairness in the evaluating process.

The Daily Star