Somali Radio Station Wins Reporters Without Borders' Press Freedom Prize

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS has awarded its 2010 Press Freedom Prize to RADIO SHABELLE, the radio station in SOMALIA that has weathered harassment by radical Islamist militias to continue to broadcast news to the nation, and jailed Iranian journalist ABDOLREZA TAJIK, who has served as political editor for several newspapers closed by the government.  The award is co-sponsored by French entertainment retailer FNAC.

"It is an immense honour to receive this prize," said ALI ABDI, SHABELLE MEDIA NETWORK's head of international relations, accepting for RADIO SHABELLE. "It recognizes not just our own work but also the courage of all Somali journalists and Somali civil society. In our country, where chaos reigns and the armed Islamist militias want to silence us, we take great risks to report the news. Five of our journalists have been killed in the past three years, including two station managers, and around 100 have fled the country for safety reasons. But we will not be intimidated. We are determined to continue our struggle for independent journalists and respect for human rights."

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