CPJ International Press Freedom Awards 2008 (tonight) (update)

From his cell in the maximum security Agüica Prison in western Matanzas province, jailed Cuban journalist Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez has written a letter to accept CPJ's International Press Freedom Award. In his letter, Maseda Gutiérrez speaks out "for all those who suffer the horror that characterizes despotic and oligarchic government models." (English translation of his letter) (The original hand-written letter in Spanish is here)

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18th Annual Awards Dinner To benefit the Committee to Protect Journalists

Foto/AP by Stuart Ramson

Andrew Mwenda, Farida Nekzad, Beatrice Mtetwa y Danish Karokhel.
No pudieron asistir a la premiación: Bilal Hussein y Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008
6:30 p.m. Reception • 7:45 p.m. Dinner • 10:00 p.m. Post-dinner Reception
Grand Ballroom, The Waldorf-Astoria, New York City

Jeff Zucker, Dinner Chairman

Gwen Ifill, Host

Presenters:
Christiane Amanpour, CNN
Harry Smith, CBS
Richard Engel, NBC
Steve Coll, author and journalist
Barry Bearak, The New York Times

Honoring:
Bilal Hussein Associated Press photographer, Iraq
Danish Karokhel and Farida Nekzad,
Pajhwok Afghanistan News executives, Afghanistan
Andrew Mwenda, managing editor, The Independent, Uganda,
Hector Maseda Gutiérrez, imprisoned reporter, Cuba

Burton Benjamin Award:
Beatrice Mtetwa, media lawyer, Zimbabwe