Moroccan Journalist Omar Radi Named Finalist for Normandy Freedom Prize

Hailing from 17 different countries, the members of the jury chaired by the Tunisian cartoonist Nadia Khiari studied 370 candidate proposals to select the three people engaged in the fight for freedom. They were sponsored by Hervé Morin, President of the Normandy Region, Bertrand Deniaud, Vice-President of the Normandy Region in charge of high schools and education, and Alain Tourret, President of the International Institute of Human Rights and Peace, Member of Parliament for Calvados.

For this third edition, the jury chose to honor two women and one man. They are Afghan rapper Sonita Alizadeh (25 years old), Hong Kong democracy activist Agnès Chow (24 years old), and Moroccan investigative journalist Omar Radi (34 years old). Their proposals will be submitted to the online vote of young people around the world. The third Freedom Prize will be awarded on June 3, 2021 at the Abbaye-aux-Dames in Caen as part of the Normandy World Forum for Peace, reports actu.fr

Of the three finalists, the Moroccan candidate, Omar Radi, born in 1986 in Kénitra, has a good chance of winning the prize. He is an investigative journalist who has several poignant investigations to his credit on social injustice in Morocco, the rent economy, and land dispossession. He also revealed a vast corruption scandal involving ministers and royal advisers.

In addition to recognition and encouragement, his articles have caused him trouble with the Moroccan justice system. Omar Radi was sentenced to 4 months in prison with probation for "contempt of a magistrate" following the publication of the following tweet: "Neither oblivion nor forgiveness with these undignified officials." Placed in pre-trial detention in July 2020, he is being prosecuted for "foreign financing," "undermining the internal security of the State" and "rape." An arrest that sparked a wave of outrage from relatives and many human rights organizations in Morocco and around the world. They denounced a blatant manipulation of the judicial system to silence a critical journalist.

In 2019, the prize was awarded to the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg for her fight for climate justice. In 2020, the Prize was awarded to Loujain Al Hathloul, released on February 10, 2021 after 1,001 days of detention in Saudi Arabia, for her fight for women’s rights.