PRESS RELEASE – London, the 30th of April 2025
World’s Longest-Imprisoned Journalist Honored on the Eve of World Press Freedom Day
“JUSTICE WALL” IN LONDON CALLS ON THE WORLD TO SAY HIS NAME: DAWIT ISAAK
On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, Human Rights Solidarity, a London- based organization committed to defending civil liberties and free expression, will host a public demonstration on Friday, 2 May, from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM outside The Guardian headquarters at Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. The event, open to media, NGOs, rights groups, and the public, will spotlight one of the gravest injustices in modern media history: the prolonged imprisonment of Mr. Dawit Isaak — a Swedish-Eritrean journalist, playwright, and father who has been held incommunicado in Eritrea for 24 years, without charge, trial, or access to a lawyer.
The initiative is co-sponsored by the Edelstam Foundation, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR), Eritrea Focus, and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI).
READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE
The event is published on UNESCO’s list of celebrations around the worl
Press Release: Stockholm, the 8th of March 2025 –– The Swedish government’s actions for Djalali must be followed by demands for Isaak and Gui
The Edelstam Foundation, Reporters Without Borders and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights express strong support for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ latest statement on Ahmadreza Djalali, the Swedish citizen and Iranian academic who is at risk of execution and whose health condition has seriously deteriorated. We welcome the government’s resolute action to ensure Djalali’s human rights and demand his immediate release and access to medical care.
DAWIT ISAAK’S DAUGHTER, BETLEHEM ISAAK, ADRESSED THE U.N. OPENING FOR THE UN GENEVA SUMMIT 2025
Betlehem Isaak, Swedish-Eritrean writer, and daughter of journalist Dawit Isaak who has been detained in Eritrean prison without trial for 24 years, addressed the U.N. Opening for the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 17th, 2025.
PRESS RELEASE FEBRUARY 6, 2025: WASHINGTON – THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB DEMANDS THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF JOURNALIST DAWIT ISAAK
The National Press Club in Washington has issued a statement demanding the immediate release of journalist Mr. Dawit Isaak, a prisoner of conscience and the world’s longest arbitrarily detained journalist. Mr. Dawit Isaak, the 2024 Edelstam Prize Laureate, has been unlawfully imprisoned since 2001 without trial. He has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been allowed to speak with his lawyer. Read the full press release here
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World’s Longest Arbitrarily Detained Journalist Receives the Edelstam Prize
The Edelstam Prize 2024 was awarded to Mr. Dawit Isaak for his outstanding contributions and exceptional courage in standing up for freedom of expression, one’s beliefs, and in the defence of Human Rights. The prize was awarded during a ceremony at the House of Nobility in Stockholm, Sweden, on 19th November 2024. Read more…
FEBRUARY 3, 2025, INTERVIEW WITH CAROLINE EDELSTAM; PRESIDENT OF THE EDELSTAM FOUNDATION; BY HENOK TEKL, ERIPM (Eritrean Public Media)
VIDEOS FROM THE PRIZE AWARDS CEREMONY & SEMINAR, NOVEMBER 19-20, 2024
Edelstam Prize Award Ceremony
19 November 2024
Edelstam Prize Seminar
20 November 2024
Press Conference
11 November 2024
PHOTOS FROM THE PRIZE AWARD CEREMONY
SCREENING OF THE MOVIE “NORMA – A QUEST FOR JUSTICE”
On November 14, Norma – A Quest for Justice was screened in Geneva, sharing the story of Norma Andrade, a 2022 Edelstam Prize laureate. The documentary follows Norma’s 23-year struggle for justice after her daughter, Alejandra, was murdered in Ciudad Juárez—a city marked by ongoing violence against women.
Norma’s case, now before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, could become only the second feminicide case ruled on by the court. The event featured welcome remarks from representatives of the Kofi Annan Foundation, the Belgian Mission to the UN, and the film’s director, followed by a panel discussion with Norma Andrade, her lawyer, and experts from UN Women and the Geneva Graduate Institute.
The screening was organised in partnership with UN Women, FILMAR en América Latina, The Edelstam Foundation, and others.
The UN Special Rapporteur's latest report on Eritrea highlights ongoing human rights violations, including indefinite national service, suppression of freedoms, and enforced disappearances. The case of Swedish-Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak, detained without trial since 2001, remains emblematic of the regime's repression. The UN urges Eritrea to provide information on Isaak's fate and release all unlawfully detained individuals. Read the full report here:
