HALIFAX, March 31, 2016 /CNW/ - Egyptian-Canadian award-winning journalist and author Mohamed Fahmy, will be the guest speaker at the Atlantic Journalism Awards gala dinner and awards show. The event will be held on Saturday evening May 7, 2016 at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel. The AJAs has also arranged a public forum featuring Fahmy and his wife, Marwa Omara at 2 PM on May 7, 2016 at CBC TV, 1840 Bell Road, Halifax, NS. Tickets for both events can be purchased online at www.ajasonline.org/tickets or call 902 478-6026.

In September 2013, Fahmy became Al Jazeera English Egypt Bureau Chief. In December of 2013, he was charged and later convicted in Egyptian court, of crimes against the government, and sentenced to seven years in a maximum security prison.

After two years of tirelessly fighting for his innocence and with the help of Omara and others, instituting appeals, undergoing re-trial and finally receiving a pardon in September, 2015, Fahmy has been able to return to Canada. He hopes to regain his Egyptian citizenship and resume his passion of practicing his right to free press in the Middle East.

Before, during and after his wrongful imprisonment, Fahmy has been recognized internationally for his outstanding commitment to journalism and international free press.

Fahmy has worked extensively in the Middle East, mostly for CNN. He covered the Iraq War in 2003 for the Los Angeles Times and entered Iraq on the first day of the war. Upon completion of his one-year mission, he authored his first book, Baghdad Bound.

He co-authored Egyptian Freedom Story, a photo documentary of the January 25 revolution of 2011.

He founded the Fahmy Foundation for Free Press in 2015 to help journalists imprisoned worldwide, he is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Canadian Journalists for Freedom of Expression, and an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia. Fahmy was recently awarded the Writers' Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award.

The Atlantic Journalism Awards is in its 35th year of honouring journalistic excellence in Atlantic Canada through a juried competition in 28 categories including newspapers, magazines, radio, television and online journalism. The presentation of the AJAs awards will be made during a gala dinner and awards event at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel on Saturday, May 7, 2016.  For tickets go to www.AJAs.ca and click on tickets.

SOURCE Atlantic Journalism Awards