By Sarah Lagan
Journalism students in Lincoln have adopted three victimised journalists as part of a campaign for press freedom.
The campaign, which was set up by Lincoln School of Journalism
students, follows a talk on 7 February held at the school by chair of
Amnesty International’s Journalists Network, Umit Ozturk, and Trevor
Mostyn, deputy chair of the Writers in Prison committee of campaign
group, PEN.
The adopted journalists are Sumi Khan, Paul Kamara
and Hafnaoui Ghoul. Bangladeshi Khan was attacked and stabbed by three
men when working for the magazine Weekly 2000, after a series of phone
calls warning her not to “defame” people. She had written articles
alleging local politicians and religious groups were involved in
attacks on ethnic minorities.
Kamara, who is founding editor and
publisher of the daily For Di People in Sierra Leone, was given two
24-month jail sentences for seditious libel for an article saying his
president had been found guilty of fraud in 1968.
Ghoul, a human
rights activist and journalist from Algeria, was sentenced to eight
months after he criticised local officials in the press.
The Lincoln students are to form a support group and will write to these journalists and to their governments.
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