Jailed Eritrean poet shares top literary award

Jamaican-born British poet Linton Kwesi Johnson has shared the 2020 PEN award for International Writer of Courage with the Eritrean poet Amanuel Asrat. The former journalist has not been seen or heard from since he was arrested as part of a clampdown on government critics in his homeland in 2001. The Evening Express reports that it is believed he is still detained in a maximum security prison. BBC News reports that he was the editor of the newspaper Zemen at the time of his arrest. The newspaper was the leading literary newspaper in Eritrea, and helped shape the cultural landscape.

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