Sudanese journalist Ms. Amal Habani yesterday received the Press Freedom Award for 2018 from the Committee of Protection of Journalists (CPJ) in New York. Ms. Habani was picked from among other journalists including from Ukraine, Venezuela and Vietnam.

According to Al Taghyeer newspaper, Ms. Habani said in her remarks upon receiving the award that the Sudanese journalists, being the source of information, are in the frontline facing the regime, and disclosed the existence of violations in the society and stressed the need for focusing the world attention on what is happening in Sudan especially violations of general freedoms and fundamental rights.

Executive director of the Committee of Protection of Journalists, Mr. J. Simon, said: “the prize is awarded to the world most courageous and dedicated journalists for their contribution towards keeping their societies informed”. “These journalists put their lives and freedom to the test every day just because of doing their professional work,” he added.

In a statement the Committee said Ms. Habani in her decade-long career has been subjected to physical assault, threat and detention while doing her professional work and covering demonstrations.

Last January, the Committee announced that Ms. Habani was the winner of a press award for 2018. Earlier Ms. Habani also won “Ginetta Sagan Award” in New York in 2015 granted by the Amnesty International for her continued defending of human rights. Ms. Habani is a co-founder of “No to Suppression against Women Initiative”. She was detained and harassed several times because of her position against the government over the past years latest was in mid January when she was detained while covering protests against rising prices.

In its Article 19, the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights provides: Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference, everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.

Source: altaghyeer