Canada-UK Media Freedom Award Presented to Independent Afghan Media

In a ceremony held on Friday (September 27) on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the award was presented to Najfizadah by Melanie Joly, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Lord Collins of Highbury, Deputy Speaker of the British House of Lords.

High-ranking officials and intellectuals from other countries, including Jan Lipavský, Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, Arnoldo André, Foreign Minister of Costa Rica, Maria Ressa, Nobel Prize laureate, and Jodie Ginsberg, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, were present at the ceremony.

It is worth noting that this award has been given since 2020 to those who defend freedom of expression and democracy. Last year, the Egyptian online newspaper "Mada Masr" received the award, but this is the first time the Canada-UK Media Freedom Award has been given to independent Afghan media.

This comes as the Taliban have severely suppressed media and journalists in Afghanistan over the past three years. Recently, Reporters Without Borders announced that the Taliban had arrested and tortured 141 journalists in the country over the past three years. According to the information, during this period, Taliban courts have imprisoned 47 journalists.