To mark World Refugee Day, English Pen, Index on Censorship and the Committee to Protect Journalists will hold a panel discussion examining the plight of journalists and writers living in exile.

Yousef Azizi Banitorof, Iranian journalist and human rights activist
Sarata Jabbi-Dibba, First Vice-President of the Gambia Press Union
Uvindu Kurukulasuriya, Sri Lankan journalist and press freedom activist
Elisabeth Witchel, Campaign Consultant, Committee to Protect Journalists

Chaired by Rohan Jayasekera, Associate Editor at Index on Censorship

Monday 20 June 2011, 6.30pm
Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London, EC1R 3GA

Elisabeth Witchel, Campaign Consultant at the Committee to Protect Journalists, will be joined by three writers living in exile in the UK: Iranian journalist and human rights activist Yousef Azizi Banitorof, Sri Lankan journalist and press freedom activist Uvindu Kurukulasuriya, and the first Vice-President of the Gambia Press Union Sarata Jabbi-Dibba. Together they will explore the reasons behind the choice or coercion faced by those who leave their homelands, and the main challenges once in exile.

This event marks the release of the Committee to Protect Journalists 2011 Journalists in Exile survey and aims to provide context and more in-depth discussion on the points raised therein. The survey highlights which countries around the world have driven the most journalists into exile and why, as well as looking at the broader impacts on media coverage in those countries. It also underscores some of the challenges of going into exile, such as obtaining visas, negotiating what is often a very complex asylum process, and the fact that many journalists in exile have great difficulty in continuing their work in journalism.

The discussion will be followed by a wine reception in the main hall. It is open to the public but space is limited. Email ewitchel[at]cpj.org to reserve your place.