Dr. Khaled Montaser, a physician and journalist who writes for Al-Masry Al-Youm, received yesterday Bahrain’s Free Press Award–the first year this prize has been awarded. Montaser was selected from among hundreds of prominent journalists from different Arab countries and was honored for his columns written during 2009.
The award, sponsored by Bahrain’s King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifah, is worth US$100,000 and is awarded to just one writer. This year, the award was for columnists.
One hundred of the most accomplished Arab columnists were shortlisted for the prize. The jury, which included renowned Arab writers, said Dr. Montaser had been selected for his bold presentation of ideas as well as his lucid style and remarkable ability to express himself.
Dr. Montaser writes a daily column for Al-Masry Al-Youm titled Khareg el-Nass (“Departure from the script”). His column tackles general issues and aims to explore objectively the scientific, cultural and social angles of a variety of topics on a daily basis.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
