Moroccan Journalist Aboubakr Jamaï given 2010 Gebran Tueni Award

Aboubakr Jamaï of Morocco, the co-founder and former managing director of the weekly newspaper Le Journal Hebdomadaire was on 13 April 2011 presented the 2010 Gebran Tueni Award in Beirut, Lebanon. He recived the award from Bengt Braun, past president and senior ambassador of WAN-IFRA, and Nayla Tueni, board member and deputy general manager of the An Nahar daily and daughter of assassinated publisher Gebran Tueni. The award was conferred upon him in recognition of constant struggle in publishing some of the region's finest independent journalism while dealing with a monarchy that prefers to maintain control of the Moroccan media. He founded the newspaper, the newspaper he founded, Le Journal Hebdomadaire which has a reputation for being a leading and critical voice in the Moroccan press. The newspaper was closed in 2010, the victim of an advertising boycott, debts and a substantial €270 000 fine. However the paper did its job of setting an example with its stinging analysis.

The Gebran Tueni Award is the annual prize of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) that honours an editor or publisher from the Arab region. The award honours the editors or publishers who demonstrate the values that the assassinated publisher, Tueni espoused.