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LYDIA
CACHO RIBEIRO WINS UNESCO PRESS FREEDOM PRIZE
From IFEX COMMUNIQUÉ VOL 17 NO 15 | 15 APRIL 2008
Lydia Cacho Ribeiro, who has been the target of death
threats, sabotage, defamation suits and police
harassment because of her work uncovering
prostitution and child pornography networks is this year's winner of the
prestigious Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, awarded
by UNESCO.
Lydia Cacho Ribeiro, a freelance reporter based in Cancun,
Mexico, frequently covers organised crime and
corruption for the daily newspaper
"La Voz del Caribe".
In 2006, Cacho reported on the violent death of hundreds of
young women in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez.
She was arrested for libel in
December 2005 for "The Devils of Eden", her book on child
pornography among Mexican politicians and businessmen. The charges were
later dropped. This month, authorities of the state of Puebla tried to stop
the public launch of Cacho's latest book,
"Memorias de una Infamia" (Memoirs of a Scandal),
her account of the various attacks and threats against her after
"Devils" was published.
"A journalist who knows the antagonistic environment in
which he or she operates and continues to do the right
thing by keeping readers, listeners
or viewers informed about their society deserves recognition for their
contribution to freedom of expression around the world,"
said jury
president Joe Thloloe, Press Ombudsman of the Press Council of South Africa.
"Lydia Cacho is such a laureate."
The US$25,000 award is named after a Colombian journalist
murdered in 1986 after denouncing powerful drug barons
in his country. Cacho will be
presented the prize in a ceremony on World Press Freedom Day, 3 May, in
Maputo, Mozambique. This year's theme is media freedom and
access to
information.
Dr Judith Buckrich
Chair, International PEN Women Writers’ Committee
Vice-President, Melbourne Centre of PEN
Flat 3, 2 Lucy Street
Gardenvale
Vic 3185
Australia
judy@judithbuckrich.com
Telephone (61) (3) 95963304
www.ipwwc.org
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