Sihem Bensedrine

Bensedrine ( born October 28, 1950 in La Marsa, Tunisia ) is a journalist who has worked for various newspapers in Tunisia and editor in chief of the co-founded by her and banned under President Zine el- Abidine Ben Ali online newspaper " Kalima " was. Under Ben Ali, she was arrested several times.

Life and work

Bensedrine sat down already during their philosophy studies in France for the establishment of freedom and democracy in their home country. From 1980 she worked as a journalist and editor for several daily newspapers. In 1985, she co-founded the feminist magazine Nissa. With the increasing censorship in Tunisia and repression against journalists critical of it was in the 1990s to the opponent of President Ben Ali and reported on corruption and torture. In 1999, she founded the magazine Kalima and tried to establish an independent newspaper project. However, the magazine did not get any license from the government, failed to print and was banned. The project was later continued as an online journal. She was also involved in publishing start-ups, but they were affected by state repression and had to be closed again.

Due to the critical reporting Bensedrine defamation campaigns in the state's print media was exposed and was imprisoned several times. They accused the Tunisian government against torture. In 2004, she was publicly denounced the participation of private media in a smear campaign and made ​​implausible. In 2009, she had to temporarily go into exile. She received a scholarship from the " Hamburg Foundation for the Politically Persecuted ." After the Tunisian Revolution, she went back to Tunisia in early 2011.

Commitment to human rights

From 1979, she was in the Tunisian " League for Human Rights " is active, which was later banned. Since 1980 she is member of the Association of Tunisian Journalists l' Association des journalistes tunisiens. Bensedrine and others founded the National Council for Freedom in Tunisia Conseil national pour les libertés en Tunisie, who was banned from 1999 until February 28, 2011. Among other things, in the " Tunisian Association of Democratic Women ," she was involved in women's rights.

Private

Bensedrine is married to the journalist and human rights activist Omar Mestiri and mother of three children.

Honors

  • 2002: Johann Philipp Palm Prize for freedom of expression and freedom of the press
  • 2004: International Press Freedom Award from the Canadian Journalists for journalists organization Free Expression
  • 2006: Freedom of Expression Award from the organization Index on Censorship, division journalism ( Hugo Young Award For Journalism )
  • 2008: Prize of the Danish Peace Foundation " Fred Fonden " for their commitment to human rights and democracy in the Arab world
  • 2010: Concordia Prize
  • 2011: Ibn Rushd Prize

Writings

  • Defeated Liberated. An Arab journalist witnessed the occupied Iraq. From the French by Ursel Shepherd. Kunstmann, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-88897-362-7.
  • With Omar Mestiri: despots on Europe's door. Why the obsession with security stokes extremism. From the French by Ursel Shepherd. Kunstmann, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-88897-397- X. ( An analysis of the political situation in the North African countries, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco)
Qantara.de Integrated Authority File
115926
de