Angolan journalist wins major press freedom award

Journalist Rafael Marques de Morais, who has braved decades of harassment and prosecution to expose corruption and human rights abuses in his native Angola, has been named the International Press Institute (IPI)’s 70th World Press Freedom Hero. The award honours journalists who have made significant contributions to the promotion of press freedom, particularly in the face of great personal risk. It will be presented during a special ceremony on 22 June in Abuja, Nigeria, during the IPI’s annual World Congress and General Assembly. In 2008, after years of writing for independent outlets in Angola and authoring numerous reports on human rights violations, Marques founded the watchdog website Maka Angola, which provides investigative coverage of corruption involving top Angolan political, business and military leaders. Marques first drew official ire in 1999 when he published an article in the independent weekly Agora describing former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos as a dictator responsible for destroying the country and promoting incompetence and corruption. He was subsequently arrested and charged with defamation. He spent 43 days in pre-trial detention before being convicted and given a six-month prison term in March 2000. Angola’s Supreme Court later reduced the penalty to a suspended sentence. He recently published the report Angola’s Killing Fields – A Report on Extrajudicial Executions in Luanda. IPI executive director Barbara Trionfi hailed Marques for his dedication to the pursuit of truth in an unforgiving environment for press freedom.

Full International Press Institute statement