Ahmed Benchemsi
On Tuesday, June 11, 2019— Journalist and activist
Ahmed Benchemsi shared his story, told about the death threats, arrests, lawsuits, censorship, and boycotts he faced and discussed the challenges of being a secular, pro-democracy journalist and human rights activist in a region full of autocratic governments and Islamic fundamentalists. Ahmed Benchemsi is the Middle East and North Africa Advocacy and Communications Director for Human Rights Watch. The founder, publisher and editor of Morocco's best-selling weeklies
TelQuel and
Nishan, and the web-magazine
FreeArabs.com, Benchemsi also shared his views on how the Middle East and North Africa are represented in Western media and the biases that sometimes result of sending inexperienced correspondents in the region rather than relying on local hires. The 30-minute talk was followed with a Q&A, and a slideshow presentation featuring visual stories on the Middle East and North Africa, curated by Ahmed Benchemsi and Visura founder Adriana Teresa Letorney.
Featuring Photographs by Amr Alfiky, Fatemeh Behboudi, Alaa Hassan, Kiana Hayeri, Marcio Pimenta