Dawit Isaak

Dawit Isaak (born October 27, 1964 in Eritrea ) is a Swedish journalist who has been held in an Eritrean prison since September 2001, presumably for political reasons . Isaak came to Sweden as a refugee in 1987 and took citizenship there in 1992. After Eritrea's independence in 1993, he returned to his home country, where he worked as a journalist for the Setit newspaper, which he co-founded , and campaigned for freedom of speech .

The four largest Swedish daily newspapers Dagens Nyheter , Svenska Dagbladet , Aftonbladet and Expressen have been campaigning for the release of Dawit Isaak under the name free dawit since March 2009 .

Awards

• In November 2009 Isaak was awarded the Tucholsky Prize of the Swedish PEN section. The reason given was, "The name Dawit Isaak has become a synonym for the entire Swedish people for the fight for freedom of speech and freedom of the press". The award is usually given to writers who are persecuted or threatened in their own country and therefore have to live in exile.
• October 2011: Golden Pen of Freedom Award from the World Association of Newspapers , which was presented to his brother Esaias in Vienna on his behalf.
• March 2017: Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Amnesty International condemns Eritrea's appalling anniversary - 11 years of incommunicado arbitrary detention , Amnesty International, September 18, 2012
2. ↑ Eritrea. In: Photos for Freedom of the Press 2010 , Reporters Without Borders 2010.
3. ↑ Campaign for the release of Dawit Isaak (Swedish / English)
4. ↑ Declaration by the Swedish PEN section on the award ceremony ( memento of the original from October 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ^ In Eritrean custody in: FAZ of October 14, 2011, page 35

Web links

• Campaign for the release of Dawit Isaak (Swedish / English)