The Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) is a local non-profit, non-partisan Lebanese human rights organization in Beirut that was established by the Franco-Lebanese Movement SOLIDA (Support for Lebanese Detained Arbitrarily) in 2006. SOLIDA has been active since 1996 in the struggle against arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and the impunity of those perpetrating gross human violations.

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June 3, 2011

iloubnan - Lebanese, Egyptian journalists win the Samir Kassir Award for freedom of the press - June 03, 2011

Ethar El-Katatney, an Egyptian journalist, and Habib Battah, a Lebanese journalist, were awarded the Samir Kassir Freedom of the Press awards for 2011.
The Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst and Gisèle Khoury-Kassir, President of the Samir Kassir Foundation awarded the winners their prizes.

Katatney, won the €10,000 prize in the "Opinion Article" category for her article: " The Veiled Muslim Bogeygirl” published in English in the Egyptian online newspaper “BikyaMasr”. While Habib Battah, also won the €10,000 prize in the "Investigative Report" category for his article: “Return to the Valley of Jews” published on the English website of the Qatari channel 'Al Jazeera'.

His article investigates the Lebanese Jews, their relation with Lebanon, and what the Jewish quarter in downtown Beirut has become.

The Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press is granted by the European Union, and rewards journalists who have distinguished themselves through the quality of their work and their commitment to democracy and the rule of law.

Organised every year since 2006, the Samir Kassir Award honours the memory of the Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir who was assassinated on the 2nd of June 2005 in Beirut. The competition is open to 18 countries in North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf. This year, 220 applications were submitted, a new record and a 50% increase compared to 2010.

Drawing attention to the special significance of the 2011 edition of the Samir Kassir Award, Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst said: “The Arab Spring would not have been the same without social networks, journalists, bloggers, and online media. Each one has played a major role in these popular uprisings; they have brought the events powerfully to life, allowing us to feel as if we were amongst them".

"Each one is a mouthpiece of the people and of their aspirations for freedom, democracy, and social justice – all of which the European Union holds to be universal and non-negotiable rights. This is why they have the duty to honour their audience with accurate and trustworthy information", she added.

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