Every year, UNESCO honors a person, organization or institution whose work has encouraged "freedom of the press" on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd.
This year, imprisoned Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid - aka Shawkan - >will receive the 2018 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize for his courageous work that has lived on throughout the years.
In a statement released on Monday, UNESCO explained the choice behind awarding Shawkan amongst other people fighting for freedom of expression.
"The choice of Mahmoud Abu Zeid pays tribute to his courage, resistance and commitment to freedom of expression," said Maria Ressa, President of the Jury.
Abu Zeid, who was doing his job as a photojournalist by covering a demonstration at Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square in Cairo, Egypt, has been in prison since August 2013 >on charges of weapons possession, illegal assembly, murder, and attempted murder.
Shawkan remains unjustly jailed till this day
The >charges against Abu Zeid were one of hundreds that came about following clashes between Egyptian security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
Although the Egyptian criminal code stipulates a maximum of two years for individuals jailed without a trial, Abu Zeid's case has been repeatedly delayed.
Even though the unjustly jailed photojournalist explained in a 2016 hearing about his lack of political affiliation and deteriorating health in prison, he remains deprived from his freedom till this day.
In 2016, he was honored by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) during its annual International Press Freedom Awards. He received an award in absentia during the ceremony and gained the support of all attendees, who held "#FreeShawkan" papers and posted photos on social media.
The story behind the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize
The annual UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize was first created in 1997 and named after Colombian journalist Guillermo Cano Isaza, "who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper El Espectador in Bogotá, Colombia on December 17, 1986."
The ceremony, which takes place yearly on May 3rd on the occasion of World Press Freedom day "honors a person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defense and, or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, and especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger."
The chosen Laureate receives a monetary prize of $25,000, funded by the Guillermo Cano Isaza Foundation (Colombia), the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation (Finland), and The Namibia Media Trust.