- Title: Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney possible contender for Nobel Peace Prize
- Date: 26th September 2019
- Summary: DINARD, FRANCE (FILE - APRIL 5, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** CLOONEY, THEN BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY JEREMY HUNT AND CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CHRYSTIA FREELAND ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE ON MEDIA FREEDOM CLOONEY LOOKING AT DOCUMENTS / CLOONEY MAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER, AMAL CLOONEY, SAYING: "Targeting journalists undermines democracy, it impedes our ability to hold the powerful to account and it allows countless human rights abuses to take place in the dark." (SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER, AMAL CLOONEY, SAYING: "We are here because it's never been more dangerous to report the news. According to the Committee of the Protection of Journalists, in the last five years we've seen the highest number of journalists imprisoned than at any time since the records began almost three decades ago. The highest number, as well, of journalists who have been reported missing and we also know of many situations where journalists are not just dying because they walk into conflict zones unarmed for the most part, but actually because they've been targeted for assassination for their work." CLOONEY AT NEWS CONFERENCE NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 10th October 2019 08:17
- Keywords: ISIS lawyer Yazidi Amal Clooney Reuters George Clooney journalists Nobel Peace Prize international human rights United Nations
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: Iran
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00EAYG9E87
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Amal Clooney, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers specialising in international law and human rights, is among the possible contenders for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
Amal is of Lebanese-British descent and married Hollywood actor George Clooney in September 2014. She has been involved in various high-profile human rights cases working with former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed and Yazidi survivor of Islamic State, Nadia Murad.
In March, Clooney joined the legal team representing two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar who were accused of possessing secret government papers in what became a landmark press freedom case.
Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were convicted on September 3 under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in prison.
According to the Nobel Prize website, there are 331 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 out of which 216 are individuals and 115 are organisations. Three hundred and thirty-one is the second highest number of candidates ever. The record of 376 candidates was set in 2016.
The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced in Oslo on Friday, October 11 at 1100 a.m. (0900GMT). - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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