FILE PHOTO - Canadian Al-Jazeera English journalist Mohamed Fahmy, listens to his lawyer, Khaled Abou Bakr during his retrial in a courtroom, of Tora prison, in Cairo, Egypt on June 1, 2015. Fahmy will be in Kelowna next week for a panel discussion on press freedom and justice in the age of terror. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Amr Nabil

Jailed Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy to speak at UBC Okanagan

KELOWNA – Press freedom and justice in the age of terror is the subject and the keynote speaker is Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian journalist falsley imprisoned in Egypt.

Fahmy will share his experiences imprisoned for nearly two years alongside hardened extremists after he was arrested in 2013 on false terrorism charges while working as Al Jazeera’s Engish bureau chief.

The award-winning journalist was given a full pardon after an international campaign to free him from prison made headlines around the world.

Kelowna Lake Country MP Stephen Fuhr and radio journalist Sara Penton will join Fahmy as moderators in the panel discussion about the growing threat to a free press and how social media is reshaping reality.

The presentation and discussion begins 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 5 in the ballroom in University Centre on the UBC Okanagan campus.

Free registration is available at fahmy.eventbrite.ca

To contact a reporter for this story, email John McDonald or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community? Create a free account to comment on stories, ask questions, and join meaningful discussions on our new site.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.
Tags
John McDonald

John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.

It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.

But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.

If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca

Related Articles