The UN announced Tuesday night that its premier prize for press freedom has been awarded to three imprisoned Iranian female journalists “for their commitment to truth and accountability.”
The winners are Niloufar Hamedi who broke the news that 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died last September while being held by the morality police for wearing her headscarf too loosely, and Elaheh Mohammadi who wrote about her funeral.
Amini’s death touched off months-long protests in dozens of cities across Iran. The demonstrations posed one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 2009 Green Movement protests drew millions to the streets.
photo: AFP
The third winner is Narges Mohammadi, who has worked for many years as a journalist and is one of Iran’s most prominent activists.
The UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization World Press Freedom Prize is named for Guillermo Cano, a Colombian journalism who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper El Espectador in Bogota on Dec. 17, 1986. UNESCO has awarded the prize to coincide with World Press Freedom Day on May 3 since 1997.
UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay announced the winners at a ceremony in New York, saying: “Now more than ever, it is important to pay tribute to all women journalists who are prevented from doing their jobs and who face threats and attacks on their personal safety.”
photo: AFP
Zainab Salbi, chair of the international jury of media professionals that chose the winners, said the brave work of the three winners “led to a historical women-led revolution.”
“They paid a hefty price for their commitment to report on and convey the truth,” Salbi said. “And for that, we are committed to honoring them and ensuring their voices will continue to echo worldwide until they are safe and free.”
In late April, Iran’s judiciary acknowledged that two reporters who broke news on Amini’s death, Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, had been indicted on charges of collaborating with the US, acting against national security, and creating “propaganda against the system.”
While nearly 100 journalists have been arrested amid the demonstrations, Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi’s reporting was crucial in the days after Amini’s death to spread word about the anger that followed. Hamedi works for the reformist newspaper Shargh, while Mohammadi works for the reformist newspaper Ham-Mihan.
Their detentions have sparked international criticism over the bloody security force crackdown that lasted months after Amini’s death. According to UNESCO, both Hamedi and Mohammadi have been in Iran’s Evin Prison since September, and Hamedi has been in solitary confinement.
Since the protests began, at least 529 people have been killed in demonstrations, according to human rights activists in Iran. Over 19,700 others have been detained by authorities amid a violent crackdown trying to suppress the dissent. Iran for months has not offered any overall casualty figures, while acknowledging tens of thousands had been detained.
Narges Mohammadi has been repeatedly detained and imprisoned by authorities, and UNESCO said she is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence in Evin Prison. She’s won recognition abroad for her work, including her activism against the death penalty in Iran, which remains one of the world’s top executioners.
UNESCO said she is vice director of the Tehran-based civil society organization, Defenders of Human Rights Center. She also continues to report in print from prison and has interviewed other women prisoners which were included in her book White Torture,” the UN agency said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and the country’s other political groups dare not offend religious groups, says Chen Lih-ming (陳立民), founder of the Taiwan Anti-Religion Alliance (台灣反宗教者聯盟). “It’s the same in other democracies, of course, but because political struggles in Taiwan are extraordinarily fierce, you’ll see candidates visiting several temples each day ahead of elections. That adds impetus to religion here,” says the retired college lecturer. In Japan’s most recent election, the Liberal Democratic Party lost many votes because of its ties to the Unification Church (“the Moonies”). Chen contrasts the progress made by anti-religion movements in
Taiwan doesn’t have a lot of railways, but its network has plenty of history. The government-owned entity that last year became the Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) has been operating trains since 1891. During the 1895-1945 period of Japanese rule, the colonial government made huge investments in rail infrastructure. The northern port city of Keelung was connected to Kaohsiung in the south. New lines appeared in Pingtung, Yilan and the Hualien-Taitung region. Railway enthusiasts exploring Taiwan will find plenty to amuse themselves. Taipei will soon gain its second rail-themed museum. Elsewhere there’s a number of endearing branch lines and rolling-stock collections, some
Could Taiwan’s democracy be at risk? There is a lot of apocalyptic commentary right now suggesting that this is the case, but it is always a conspiracy by the other guys — our side is firmly on the side of protecting democracy and always has been, unlike them! The situation is nowhere near that bleak — yet. The concern is that the power struggle between the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their now effectively pan-blue allies the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) intensifies to the point where democratic functions start to break down. Both
This was not supposed to be an election year. The local media is billing it as the “2025 great recall era” (2025大罷免時代) or the “2025 great recall wave” (2025大罷免潮), with many now just shortening it to “great recall.” As of this writing the number of campaigns that have submitted the requisite one percent of eligible voters signatures in legislative districts is 51 — 35 targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus lawmakers and 16 targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The pan-green side has more as they started earlier. Many recall campaigns are billing themselves as “Winter Bluebirds” after the “Bluebird Action”
RSS