Afghan Journalists Awarded for their hard work towards free speech

Città di Siena-ISF has awarded two prizes to two deserving Afghan journalists, 23 year old Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh and 25 year old Nasim Fekrat.

“This pushes me forward for the people of my generation. The objective is to bring Afghanistan in the world through digital technologies and the internet. For this reason we need your help,” said Nasim Fekrat this morning. “This prize is for me and for all the journalists that have been struggling in the last seven years.”

Other than maintaining his photography, English and Farsi blogs, and the association for Afghan bloggers, Nasim is also the Director of Afghan Press (English version here) where the aim is to encourage and empower independent, home-grown journalism, even in underrepresented remote villages. He is extremely determined and ambitious, and you can expect a lot more from him in the coming years.

As for the other Afghan journalist who won and also truly deserved this prize, according to the press release:

The other winner of this eighth edition is Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh, journalism student and reporter for the daily “Jahan e Now” (The new world) who will not be with us because he is currently detained in the Kabul prison, where he has been sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment with the charge of blasphemy.

Nasim has accepted the award on his behalf.

The sponsors and organizers of this conference also used this opportunity to express their hope for Kambakhsh’s freedom, as did many concerned individuals around the world. Unfortunately this worthwhile event did not get much publicity in the media.

Congratulations to both recipients whose courage and hard work is globally admired and shall never be forgotten.