Schibbye was held in the same prison where Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega, this year's Golden Pen of Freedom laureate, is serving an 18-year sentence on bogus terrorism-related charges. Similar charges were lodged against Schibbye - all in the line of journalistic duty. Schibbye made it out, a year and two months after entering the prison in 2011. In a stirring speech (please read it on page 11) at the World Newspaper Congress in Turin, Italy, Schibbye paid tribute to Eskinder while accepting the Golden Pen on behalf of his family. I spoke with Schibbye shortly after his presentation, awkwardly asking if he had time to pose for a photo for our cover as part of the Congress coverage in this issue (starting on page 8). He happily obliged. He was tired, he said. But it was a good kind of fatigue. His wife had given birth to their first child a few weeks before the event, causing the usual up-and-down nights for the young father. The weariness didn't diminish his warm smile. While his speech choked him up (me too), and our chat about Eskinder brought a few faraway looks to his eyes, he was happy on this day. Happy to bring any hint of light and hope for his imprisoned colleague.
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