A journalist imprisoned without trial in Eritrea for 23 years has won a Swedish human rights award for his commitment to freedom of expression.
Dawit Isaak, who is a citizen of Eritrea and Sweden, was awarded the Edelstam Prize “for… his exceptional courage”, the award’s foundation said in a statement.
Dawit, who holds dual Eritrean-Swedish citizenship, was one of the founders of Setit, Eritrea’s first independent newspaper.
He was arrested in 2001 after his paper published letters calling for democratic reforms.
Dawit was among a group of about twenty people, including senior cabinet ministers, members of parliament and independent journalists, who were arrested on charges of government cleansing.
For years, the Eritrean government has not released any information on his whereabouts or health, and many of his fellow prisoners are presumed dead.
The Edelstam Prize, awarded for exceptional courage in the defense of human rights, will be presented on November 19 in Stockholm.
Dawit’s daughter, Betlehem Isaak, will accept the award on his behalf as he is still imprisoned in Eritrea.
His work with Setit included criticizing the government and calling for democratic reforms and freedom of speech, actions that led to his imprisonment for preventing dissent.
The Edelstam Foundation called for Dawit’s release, urging the Eritrean authorities to reveal his whereabouts and allow him legal representation.
“Dawit Isaak is the longest imprisoned journalist in the world. We are very worried about his life and his whereabouts are unknown, he is not charged, and he is denied access to his family, diplomatic assistance, and the right to a lawyer – effectively, it is an enforced disappearance,” said Caroline Edelstam, the chair of the judge of the Edelstam Prize.
“His undying courage stands as a testament to the principle of free speech.”
The Edelstam Foundation also urged the international community to pressure Eritrea to release Dawit and advocate for human rights reforms.
The Edelstam Prize honors people who have shown exceptional courage in the defense of human rights, in memory of the Swedish politician Harald Edelstam.
Eritrea is the only African country without a private media, which closed its private press in 2001 under the pretext of “national security”.
Dawit who fled to Sweden in 1987 when Eritrea was fighting for independence, returned after the country gained independence in 1993 after becoming a Swedish citizen.
There have been no elections in Eritrea since independence, and President Isaiahs Afwerki has been in power for almost 31 years.
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