am On the recommendation of an international jury of media professionals, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura designated Lebanese journalist May Chidiac, winner of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2006.
The victim of a car bomb attack on 25 September 2005, Ms Chidiac had one of her hands and her left leg amputated. The tragedy shook Lebanese opinion, which came to see the journalist as a symbol of freedom of expression. The attack against her closely resembled the fatal attack on Samir Kassir, a journalist from the daily An Nahar, five months earlier. Another similar attack in December 2005 targeted the editor of An-Nahar, Gebran Tueni. May Chidiac was proposed as a candidate for prize by the Lebanese minister for culture.
The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize is awarded annually on World Press Freedom Day (3 May). The 2006 prize, worth US $25,000, is financed this year by the Guillermo Cano Foundation, James and David Ottaway - respectively a former reporter from the Washington Post and a former Chairperson of the World Press Freedom Committee - and UNESCO.
The jury members are: Walid Al-Saqqaf (Yemen), Ruth de Aquino (Brazil), Conor Brady (Ireland), Kavi Chongkittavorn (Thailand), Kunda Dixit (Nepal), Joergen Ejboel (Denmark), Catherine Gicheru (Kenya), Daoud Kuttab (Jordan), Remzi Lani (Albania), Olena Prytula (Ukraine), John Thloloe (South Africa), Ricardo Uceda (Peru) and two representatives from the Guillermo Cano Foundation (Colombia).
Created in 1997 by UNESCOs Executive Board, the prize honours the work of an individual or an organization defending or promoting freedom of expression anywhere in the world, especially if this action puts the individuals life at risk. The prize is named after Colombian journalist Guillermo Cano, who was assassinated in 1987 after denouncing the activities of powerful drug barons in his country. Candidates are proposed by UNESCO Member States, and regional or international organizations that defend and promote freedom of expression.
Source Press Release No. 2006 - 25
Author(s) UNESCOPRESS
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