Paris
Amal Clooney will be honoured with the 2020 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award, by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) for her extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom.
“Like brave and committed journalists everywhere, CPJ’s honourees set out to report the news without fear or favour for the benefit of their communities, their country, and the world,” CPJ executive director Joel Simon said in a prepared statement.
“They understood that they would confront powerful forces, enemies of the truth, who would try to stop them from doing their work,” he added.
“What they did not foresee was COVID-19. The global pandemic has not only made their jobs more difficult and dangerous; it has fuelled a ferocious press freedom crackdown as autocratic leaders around the world suppress unwelcome news under the guise of protecting public health.”
In recognition of her tremendous efforts towards the freedom of press, CPJ is awarding Clooney the highly prestigious award.
“Journalists in trouble have no better champion than Amal Clooney,” said CPJ board chairperson Kathleen Carroll in a prepared statement. “A talented barrister, gifted negotiator, and powerful speaker, Clooney works tirelessly to free journalists unjustly targeted by despotic leaders using increasingly punitive laws to stifle reporting.”
She has been a strong supporter of CPJ’s advocacy in recent years and has taken up the call for governments to provide emergency visas to journalists in distress. She is currently representing Maria Ressa, CPJ’s 2018 Gwen Ifill award winner, who has been convicted of cyber libel, a criminal offense, in the Philippines.—AFP
