Imprisoned Syrian activist wins PEN Pinter prize

                 
                   

LONDON (AP) Oct. 09, 2014 - An imprisoned Syrian journalist and human rights activist has won a major a writing award celebrating free speech. Mazen Darwish shares the PEN Pinter prize with India-born British novelist Salman Rushdie. The award was announced Thursday at a ceremony in London.
Darwish was the director of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression when he was arrested in February 2012 along with two colleagues. The three have been charged with 'publicizing terrorist acts.' Rushdie said Darwish 'courageously fought for civilized values — free expression, human rights — in one of the most dangerous places in the world.'