The AIB fax line is suffering problems at the present time, resulting in a highly intermittent level of connectivity.
We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause you – we are working with our telecoms provider to rectify the situation.
We recommend that, if possible, you convert any documents you are sending to PDF format and send them to our main e-mail address: contactaib (@) aib.org.uk.
Independent medical experts from the United States and Britain, reviewing recent conversations with the detained Al Jazeera cameraman Sami al Haj, reveal that his mental state has deteriorated severely and he is in desperate need of medical attention. Based on recent comments from Sami, noted experts believe that he is suffering from severe depression, and characterize him as “passively suicidal.” According to reports, Sami believes that he has nothing to live for.
Sami has been detained in Guantanamo Bay since January 7, 2002, without any charges, any legal means to defend himself or information on when he will be released. Being held in the legal black hole known as Guantanamo Bay has taken a serious toll on Sami and on Sami’s wife and his young son.
D.L. Creson MD, a mental health professional with extensive experience working with prisoners in the United States, Bosnia, East Timor, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, stated, “He, in my opinion, fits into a sub-category of severe depression often seen in complex emergencies where an individual has given up all hope; where nothing remains relevant to survival.” While describing Sami’s deteriorating condition, Dr. Creson elaborated, “ the marked change in attitude that was noted and the description of Mr. al Haj’s current behaviour suggests to me that Mr. al Haj no longer has the ability to cope with his relentlessly traumatic environment and is in the process of withdrawing into himself; in effect, he is becoming a case of passive suicide.”
Similarly, Hugh Rickards, MD, a noted consultant in Neuropsychiatry, suggested that Sami may be facing the onset of a mental disorder as a result of his indefinite detention and seemingly never-ending ordeal. In conclusion, Dr. Rickards states, “His (Sami al Haj) state of mind requires assessment and possible treatment from a qualified and experienced psychiatrist, which I understand Mr. Al-Haj is not receiving. Although I have not met or examined Mr. Al-Haj personally, the level of his mental suffering appears so acute that it is my duty as a medical practitioner to put this in writing to ensure appropriate assessment and treatment.” Given the apparent deterioration of Sami’s mental state, and his obvious anguish, the Al Jazeera Network would like to appeal to the U.S. administration and military to conform to international human rights standards and to provide medical attention for Sami.
Wadah Khanfar, the Director General of the Al Jazeera Network stated: “Our colleague Sami has been in detention now for almost six years without any charges and is suffering greatly from this unfair and illegal detention – we demand the U.S. officials to release him immediately. Al Jazeera continues to stand by Sami and this just cause.”
Sami, originally from Sudan, was captured while filming a news story in Afghanistan for Al Jazeera. To protest his indefinite detention without charges, Sami has been on hunger strike for almost one year. Support the campaign to free Sami from Guantanamo Bay.
Visit www.prisoner345.net
The AIB is pleased to announce that its 2007 Media Excellence Awards are now open for entries from around the world.
The international panel of judges is now assembled, representing programme producers, journalists, editors and presenters, including some of the winners of the 2006 AIB Awards.
Now is your opportunity to align your brand with this celebration of excellence in international media.
We’re making available a limited number of sponsorships that will enable companies to be associated with the most innovative content on the international airwaves – and, increasingly, on new distribution platforms – and the best presentation, the best channels and the best technological concepts.
You have the opportunity to sponsor the entire 2007 AIB Media Excellence Awards, or an individual Award category. Alternatively, make a splash at the Awards ceremony and diner pensant in central London in 20 November 2007 through sponsorship of the champagne reception or the entire evening.
For more information, download the sponsorship brochure using the link below, and contact
Ollie Kirkman to discuss the opportunities the 2007 AIB Media Excellence Awards offers your company. You will find all the contact details
you need in the sponsorship brochure…download it
here.
The latest edition of the AIB’s quarterly magazine, The Channel is available exclusively on line.
To view the magazine, click
here (a new browser window will open).
You can read the magazine in your browser, or download it to view later, or
print it.
Future
editions will continue to be available in print, as they have for the last ten
years. We’d like to invite you to subscribe to the magazine today to take
advantage of a special offer: we’ll
send you the next six editions for the price of four – a
50% saving!
Click
here to subscribe to the AIB’s renowned magazine, The Channel.
The subscription price covers the AIB’s post and packing cost.
You
can also place an advance order for the new edition of the AIB Directory
of Global Broadcasting. To be published in August, this latest edition
of the AIB’s annual guide to broadcasting worldwide has more than 50% more
information than the 2006 edition. Key contacts from the chief engineer at
Phoenix Satellite Television in Hong Kong to the Director of Dubai TV are
included. We’ve completely overhauled the Directory to make it more useful, with
new contextual information about key broadcasting markets worldwide.
The new edition of the AIB Directory of Global Broadcasting is
priced at GBP120 – order today. We also include postage in the price! Click
here to order.
The Voice of America, which first went on the air more than 60 years ago
and is funded by the US government through the Broadcasting Board of
Governors, is banking on humour and entertainment to reach and inform its
worldwide web audience.
The Daily Download, a five-minute video webcast, was launched in June
for streaming on the VOA Web site (www.voanews.com). The Download
contains US and international news, feature material, and other video
clips from around the web. Host Doug Bernard (a past winner of AIB’s
International Radio Presenter of the Year) applies a different “take” on
the day’s news, using humour and a conversational style to relate to
viewers and internet surfers. The Download was accessed nearly 7,000
times in its first month on the VOA Web site and has received fan e-mail
from Turkey, China, Iran and Cameroon among other places. Downloads
increased by 10.7 percent in the second month.
Web-savvy fans seem to love this fresh approach to VOA’s website. One in
Africa wrote that, “I nearly laughed my socks off; ” another from
Beijing said that he “loved the Daily Download,” and yet a third signed
off an e-mail, “…Go DD!” A school teacher reported that he used the
webcast to inform his students about current events.
“Daily Download is another news service for our audience, it has a fresh
approach, and fast-paced format to appeal to our overseas online
audience,” said VOA Director Dan Austin. “The webcast is free and
available through the Internet whenever people want to hear a concise,
informative and entertaining version of the day’s news,” Austin added.
The webcast is produced by VOA’s Worldwide English Division and can be
streamed live or downloaded to media devices such as iPods. Daily
Download will be offered for mobile phone access in the near future.
The AIB has opened booking for the Diner Pensant on 20 November at which the AIB’s Media Excellence Awards will be presented.
Taking place at the fabulous Clothworkers’ Hall in the city of London, the AIB >Diner Pensant will follow the same immensely successful formula as our 2006 event. As well as the glittering Awards presentation, the evening will offer access to inspiring minds – we’ll have two leading media leaders in conversation with the AIB and its guests during the Dinner. There will be much to take away from the event!
You can reserve your places at this important and exciting event now – we have tables of 10 and of course AIB Members benefit from a discount on the regular price.
Tickets cost GBP155 plus UK VAT, totalling £182.13, while members can book their places at just GBP90, plus UK VAT (total price £105.75).
Follow the link below to reserve your seat now.