Ibrahim presented with Danish Pundik Freedom Prize
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 17, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a visiting professor in the Indiana University School of Law--Bloomington and a visiting professor of political sociology at Indiana University, has been awarded the Danish Pundik Freedom Prize for his advocacy for human rights in his native country of Egypt.
Photo by: David Snodgress
Saad Eddin Ibrahim
Ibrahim, 69, was presented the award on Saturday (Nov. 12) in Copenhagen for his "outstanding effort in the service of human rights and civil society in Egypt."
The honor comes with 100,000 Danish kroner as a reward.
Ibrahim is considered a fugitive in his native home of Egypt, where in August 2008 he was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison with hard labor for "tarnishing Egypt's image abroad" after writing a critical op-ed piece in the Washington Post. If he ever returns, Ibrahim is facing 16 more legal suits against him in various Egyptian courts.
"If convicted on all charges, I would spend at least 50 years behind bars," Ibrahim said. "I wouldn't mind it if there were only a divine guarantee that I would live that long!"
Ibrahim's rise to international prominence began earlier this decade when Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak became alarmed by Ibrahim's growing activism and outspoken criticism of the Mubarak administration. Ibrahim was imprisoned from 2000 through 2003 for allegedly tarnishing Egypt's international image, though he was later acquitted by Egypt's High Court and exonerated on all charges.
"Still, the Mubarak regime has resumed its relentless campaign to silence me," Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim is an internationally recognized advocate for human rights and democracy in the Middle East. He has authored or edited more than 30 books and founded or directed a number of think tanks, policy institutes and advocacy organizations throughout the Middle East, including the Arab Human Rights Organization, the Arab Democracy Foundation, and Voices for a Democratic Egypt.
Jeffrey Isaac, the James H. Rudy Professor and chair at the IU Department of Political Science and director of the Indiana Democracy Consortium, said Ibrahim is a special individual.
"Saad is an inspirational citizen of the world who works tirelessly, and at great personal cost, on behalf of human rights," Isaac said. "He is admired in his native Egypt, in the Middle East more generally, and wherever there are people who care about freedom. Saad is also a world-class scholar and intellectual. These things are widely known. Less known is this: he is warm, generous and he has a sense of humor. IU's Indiana Democracy Consortium is thrilled to have him here for the semester, and we hope that this is the beginning of a long relationship of mutual support and intellectual collaboration."
The Pundik Freedom Prize, presented by the Danish newspaper Politiken, was awarded to its inaugural recipient, Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov, in 2007.
Ibrahim is currently teaching a seminar in international law and democracy at Indiana Law.
"We are honored to have Professor Ibrahim at Indiana University. His courage and commitment to democratic ideals are internationally recognized," said Indiana Law Dean Lauren Robel.
