Stockholm- A jailed Swedish-Eritrean journalist was on Wednesday awarded a newly created freedom of speech prize by the Swedish Association of Publicists. As of Wednesday, Dawit Isaak has been imprisoned for 2,000 days in his native Eritrea in east Africa and was unable to attend the award ceremony in the Swedish capital Stockholm.
To mark the occasion, the editors of the culture sections of six national dailies published a joint statement urging the Swedish government to step up its efforts to secure the release of Isaak.
He was jailed in September 2001 in the Eritrean capital Asmara.
The editors said the government's strategy of "silent diplomacy" should be backed up with public statements calling for Isaak's immediate release, and urged Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt or Foreign Minister Carl Bildt to visit Eritrea.
Isaak became a Swedish citizen in 1992 after seeking asylum 1987. He lived in the west-coast city of Gothenburg until 2000 when he returned to Eritrea to work for the independent weekly Setit.
His wife and three children remained in Sweden and accepted the award worth 10,000 kronor (1,400 dollars) and a diploma on his behalf.
The publicist association's freedom of speech prize was named after slain Russian reporter Anna Politkovskaya.
Human rights advocacy groups like Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders and the Swedish Journalists' Union have also campaigned for Isaak's release.
Several Swedish parliamentarians that belong to a support group for the reporter have suggested Sweden should act to freeze European Union aid to Eritrea.
