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  Moroccan Journalist is First Award Recipient He’s been sentenced to jail, saw his publication banned and was forced to leave his country. Moroccan Editor/Publisher Aboubakr Jamaï is the first recipient of the Tully Center for Free Speech Award. Jamaï told more than 275 students and faculty on January 31 that speaking out against his government is worth the cost. “I don’t think you solve problems by repressing the constituency and repressing voices,” he said. “You solve them by allowing these voices to express themselves.” A former investment banker who saw an entrepreneurial venture in journalism, Jamai founded the first truly independent newspaper in Morocco, Le Journal Hebdomadaire. He says he found journalism to be “an incurable disease.” This publication and another one he started later were abandoned by printer, boycotted by advertisers and and targeted by demonstrator — all because of his forthright call for free speech and his criticism of the government. This $2500 annual award was designated by Tully Center benefactor Joan Tully to be presented to a “journalist who has faced a free speech threat.” Photos Video |
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