Cheema receives Press Freedom Award
NEW YORK: Umar Cheema of The News, kidnapped and beaten black and blue last fall for his reporting on the government, has been honoured by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The CPJ’s International Press Freedom Awards were held in New York, the annual ceremony attended by some 900 guests. “I can’t finish without thanking my attackers who helped me in discovering the strength of character I possessed but didn’t realize before,” Cheema said.
Cheema was tortured for almost seven hours and told not to speak to the media, but he did tell all and has continued bravely with his investigative reporting. The other award winners were Mansoor al-Jamri (Al-Wasat, Bahrain), Natalya Radina (Charter 97, Belarus) and Javier Valdez C·rdenas (RÌodoce, Mexico).
Source: The News
Date:11/26/2011
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