An imprisoned Eritrean-Swedish journalist who was arrested in a crackdown on the media in September 2001 and was known for his critical and insightful reporting has won a prestigious United Nations prize dedicated to promoting press freedom.
An independent international jury of media professionals recommended unanimously Dawit Isaak in recognition of his courage, resistance and commitment to freedom of expression for the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2017.
Mr. Isaak has spent nearly 16 years in jail, without charge or trial.
A playwright, journalist and writer, Mr. Isaak moved in 1987 to Sweden, where he later became a citizen and went into self-imposed exile. After the independence of Eritrea, he returned to his homeland to become one of the founders and reporters of Setit, the first independent newspaper in the country. He was known for his critical and insightful reporting.
The $25,000 Prize is named in honour of Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian journalist who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper, El Espectador, in Bogotá, on 17 December 1986. It is funded by the Cano Foundation (Colombia) and the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation (Finland).
| Year | Recipient | Country |
| 2017 | Dawit Isaak | Sweden/Eritrea |
| 2016 | Khadija Ismayilova | Azerbaijan |
| 2015 | Mazen Darwish | Syria |
| 2014 | Ahmet Şık | Turkey |
| 2013 | Reeyot Alemu | Ethiopia |
| 2012 | Eynulla Fatullayev | Azerbaijan[1] |
| 2011 | Ahmad Zeidabadi | Iran |
| 2010 | Mónica González Mujica | Chile |
| 2009 | Lasantha Wickrematunge | Sri Lanka (posthumous award) |
| 2008 | Lydia Cacho Ribeiro | Mexico |
| 2007 | Anna Politkovskaya | Russia (posthumous award) |
| 2006 | May Chidiac | Lebanon |
| 2005 | Cheng Yizhong | China |
| 2004 | Raúl Rivero | Cuba |
| 2003 | Amira Hass | Israel |
| 2002 | Geoffrey Nyarota | Zimbabwe |
| 2001 | Win Tin | Myanmar |
| 2000 | Nizar Nayyouf | Syria |
| 1999 | Jesús Blancornelas | Mexico |
| 1998 | Christina Anyanwu | Nigeria |
| 1997 | Gao Yu | China |
