Martin Karl Schibbye (; born 17 October 1980) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and former editor. After an assignment in the conflict-ridden Ogaden region of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

he was sentenced to eleven years in prison for terrorist crimes on 27 December 2011, but was later pardoned and released on 10 September 2012. He was held at the notorious

Kaliti Prison Kaliti Prison is a maximum security prison in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Commonly referred to as a gulag (locally known as "Maremiya" which means correction center) it serves as the main prison of the country. It is 11 km south of central Addis ...

Career

Schibbye became editor of Sweden's Revolutionary Communist Youth magazine ''

Rebell "Rebell" (German for "rebel") is a song by German rock band Die Ärzte. It's the ninth track and the fourth and final single from their 1998 album '' 13''. The song is about the rebellious attitude of adolescents, which it criticises ironically ...

'' in his twenties. After military service in

Strängnäs Strängnäs is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of t ...

00-01, he graduated with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in political science and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in economic history and a

in journalism. Today he is a freelance journalist. He has worked as a

foreign correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

for several

newspapers A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

, including ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', '' Amelia'' and ''

Proletären ''Proletären'' (meaning "the proletarian"; in full ''Marxist-leninist Proletären'') is a Swedish Marxist-Leninist weekly newspaper published by the Communist Party. History and profile ''Proletären'' was founded in 1970. About a third of t ...

''. He has worked in several different countries, including

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. He has been the editor of the quarterly '' Iraksolidaritet'' and the monthly magazine '' Folket i Bild/Kulturfront''. Recently he worked for the magazine ''

Filter Filtration is a physical process that separates solid matter and fluid from a mixture. Filter, filtering, filters or filtration may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Fil ...

''.

Arrested and sentenced for terrorist crimes in Ethiopia

On 1 July 2011 Schibbye was arrested along with the Swedish photographer Johan Persson in Ethiopia suspected of terrorist crimes after they illegally entered the

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; , ) is one of the historical names used for the modern Somali Region. It is also natively referred to as Soomaali Galbeed (). The region forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and borders Somalia ...

region from

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

in the company of

ONLF The Ogaden National Liberation Front, abbreviated ONLF, (, JWXO; ) is a Somali nationalist armed and political organization seeking self-determination for the Somali-inhabited Ogaden (Somali region) of eastern Ethiopia. Founded in 1984 by forme ...

guerrillas. Schibbye and Persson were sentenced to 11 years in jail on 27 December 2011. The evidence submitted during the trial included film produced by the Ethiopian authorities, based both on material recorded by Schibbye and Persson and on interviews made under duress by the authorities.

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

voiced disapproval of the way the Ethiopian judicial system was handling the case and warned of the danger of serious diplomatic repercussions of the jail sentences: "Every meeting between Ethiopian officials and their European or western counterparts will henceforth be affected by this case."Two Swedish journalists sentenced to 11 years in prison
27 December 2011 On 10 September 2012 they were pardoned and released. Schibbye returned to Sweden on 14 September 2012 and subsequently held a

press conference A press conference, also called news conference or press briefing, is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalism, journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicia ...

together with Johan Persson, telling about their time in Ethiopia. Schibbye published a book in 2013, "438 dagar" (''438 Days''), detailing his experience.

Awards

Schibbye was awarded the 2011 Robespierre Prize of SEK 10,000 by the

Jan Myrdal Jan Myrdal (19 July 1927 – 30 October 2020) was a Swedish author known for his strident Maoist, anti-imperialist and contrarian views and heterodox and highly subjective style of autobiography. Family Born in Bromma, Stockholm, in 1927, Jan ...

Society for his journalism, specifically his coverage of Iraq. He received the 2012 Freelance Award, the 2012

Anna Politkovskaya Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya (; 30 August 1958 – 7 October 2006) was a Russians, Russian investigative journalist who reported on political and social events in Russia, in particular, the Second Chechen War (1999–2005). It was her repor ...

Memorial Award, and Reporters Without Borders’ 2013 Press Freedom Prize. His book with Johan Persson, "438 dagar", was shortlisted for the 2013

August Prize The August Prize () is an annual Swedish literary prize awarded each year since 1989 by the Swedish Publishers' Association. The prize is awarded to the best Swedish book of the year, in three categories. The Swedish Publishers' Association also ...

in the non-fiction category.

References

External links

Martin Schibbyes website
*, an interview with Martin Schibbye at ''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long TV, radio, and Internet news program based in Manhattan and hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Schibbye, Martin 1980 births Swedish editors Swedish journalists Swedish communists Living people Swedish people imprisoned abroad