The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) salutes the Colombian woman Journalist, Jineth Bedoya Lima, for winning the prestigious Golden Pen of Freedom Award by the World Association of News Publishers.
In a statement the IJU President B.R. Prajapati & Secretary General G. Prabhakaran congratulated Ms. Bedoya Lima for “fearless journalistic work risking her life in protecting the rights of women and exposing the drug mafia. Her courage in confronting and overcoming her own personal tragedy with a level of dignity and determination serves as inspiration to peers the world over.”
Ms. Bedoya Lima, a deputy editor in Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper, has reported for more than two decades on armed conflict in Colombia, as well as drug trafficking and women’s rights issues – the latter of which earned her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2016. But her work has come at a personal cost to her safety.
In 2000, while on an assignment at La Modelo prison in Bogota, investigating alleged arms sales between paramilitaries and state officials, Ms. Bedoya Lima was kidnapped and then tortured and sexually assaulted by three paramilitaries – an attack that one of them told her was “a message to the press in Colombia.” Three years later, she was kidnapped once again by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and held for five days. In the years since, she has become an advocate against impunity and for the rights of women affected by Colombia’s political violence.
Last year, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights confirmed in a landmark decision that the Colombian state was responsible for the acts committed against Ms. Bedoya Lima. The IJU feel that “at a time when journalists, women, children and minorities are under greatest threat of violence, oppression and discrimination in India and many parts of the world Journalists and social activists like Ms. Bedoya Lima is a shining inspiration.”
Despite facing torture she declared “I will not be silenced; I choose to survive, to keep doing journalism.” The IJU salutes her for this courage of conviction that is required for any good Journalist. The IJU hails the spirit of this woman Journalist who will enthuse and inspire millions of media persons the world over. Ms. Bedoya Lima has previously received numerous awards, including the International Press Freedom Award sponsored by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, and the Courage in Journalism Award by the International Women’s Media Foundation.
B.R. Prajapati, President & G. Prabhakaran, Secretary General, New Delhi, October 1, 2020