On June 10, 2017, the Honours and Awards Committee of the Huguenot Society of Canada honoured The Marriott Cell: An Epic Journey from Cairo's Scorpion Prison to Freedom with its annual award for the best book or substantial article published in Ontario in 2016 that has brought public awareness to the principles of freedom of conscience and freedom of thought. I'm delighted to share this award with Mohamed Fahmy, fearless journalist, fellow author and friend, and with our indomitable editor, Louise Dennys, and our publisher, Random House Canada.
In its citation, the awards committee noted: "Mohamed Fahmy, a distinguished journalist, tells the deeply disturbing story that began in December 2013 of his long struggle for freedom following his wrongful incarceration in Scorpion, Egypt’s maximum-security prison for terrorists and political activists. Fahmy and Shaben, in gripping prose, make clear that crucial to Fahmy’s survival and eventual release were the outcries of supporters from around the world, the support of his loving partner, and the determination of his outstanding international human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney. Moreover, The Marriott Cell gives readers insight into a region of the world troubled by jihadism, not only because of the authors’ expertise on the subject but also because Fahmy explains his own, up-close encounters with the prisoners in his cell block. The Marriott Cell makes an eloquent case for the profound importance of independent journalism today."