Saja

SAJA (@sajaHQ) and CPJ (@PressFreedom) present a conversation about the state of press freedom in Pakistan. Join Umar Cheema, who won this year's International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia director as they talk about what's happening in Pakistan today. More on Cheema below.  Umar Cheema, a reporter with Islamabad's The News, was abducted in September 2010 by unknown assailants who stripped, beat, and photographed him in humiliating positions. Cheema's unwillingness to stay silent about his abduction and the abuses he suffered has drawn wide attention to the nationwide issue of anti-press violence in Pakistan. Almost immediately after he was released, Cheema went on television to tell the world of the abuses and humiliation he endured at the hands of "men in police commando uniforms." He said his captors asked why he continued with his critical reporting--was he trying to discredit the government and bring back former President Musharraf?  In the m