Umar Cheema was stripped naked, blindfolded, handcuffed and beaten after he was abducted on the morning of Sept. 4, 2010.

The torturers told Cheema, an investigative journalist for The News, a daily newspaper based out of Karachi, Pakistan, that violence was a consequence of his reporting, and if he continued his work, he would be abducted again, according to information from the Tully Center for Free Speech.

On Thursday at 7 p.m., the Tully Center will present Cheema with the Tully Free Speech Award in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Cheema stood out as a clear winner to both students and faculty because of his heart-wrenching and admirable story, said Roy Gutterman, director of the Tully Center and associate professor of communications law and journalism. The center started in 2006.

Four awards have been given to journalists who have stood up for free speech since 2008. Previous winners of the Tully Free Speech Award include Aboubakr Jamaï, a Moroccan publisher, and Barry Bearak, a New York Times reporter in South Africa.

Liz Woolery, a research assistant for the Tully Center and second-year media studies graduate student, said there were some strong nominees this year, each with a unique and powerful story to tell.

But Cheema’s story is an incredibly compelling one, Woolery said, because his abduction was recent. Pakistan is considered one of the deadliest countries for members of the press worldwide, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Woolery said. 

The job of the Tully Center is to educate and provide resources to encourage a better understanding and appreciation for free speech, Woolery said.

‘One of the best ways to do that is by bringing in individuals, like Umar Cheema, who have faced significant threats to their own freedom of speech, so that we can collectively come to a unified understanding of and appreciation for the universal fight for free speech,’ she said.

After receiving the award, Cheema will speak about the obstacles he overcame and threats he dealt with during his struggle to cover controversial stories. Cheema has faced significant threats while reporting about issues dealing with national security, corruption, governance, politics and social justice.

Even after dealing with a brutal beating and life threats, Cheema still expresses his First Amendment rights, freedom of speech and of the press, by continuing his investigative journalism with The News, said Gutterman, director of the Tully Center.

‘It takes a lot of bravery, dealing with threats, to produce that kind of journalism,’ Gutterman said. ‘We hold events, like this one, intended to give free speech some light because it is something that we deeply value here at Newhouse.’

Joan Tully, a 1969 Newhouse graduate, left a generous donation to the school after she died from a brain tumor in 2005. Tully specified the money be used to dedicate a center in her name that focused on free speech, according to the center’s website. 

Today, Room 426 of Newhouse III is home to the Tully Center. Jennifer Cheng, a senior newspaper journalism and international relations major and student representative on the advisory board for the Tully Center, said the work the center does inspires her.

‘I have always paid close attention to the past Tully Award winners,’ Cheng said. ‘And their stories always leave me inspired to stand strong if I ever encounter similar obstacles as a journalist in the future.’

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Published on April 13, 2011 at 12:00 pm