Paul McGeough is an Irish Australian journalist and senior foreign correspondent for ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
''.
In 2001, when covering events in Afghanistan with the
Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...
, he and French journalist
Véronique Reyberotte survived an attack by the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
which killed journalists
Volker Handloik
Volker Handloik (19 July 1961 – 11 November 2001) was a German freelance journalist and reporter. Born in Rostock, East Germany, he worked for the Hamburg-based '' Stern'' for 10 years and also did some correspondence for newspapers, journ ...
,
Johanne Sutton, and
Pierre Billaud.
[A NATION CHALLENGED: THE NEWS MEDIA; Two French Radio Journalists and a German Are Killed in Taliban Ambush of a Rebel Force]
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', 13 November 2001 He was awarded the 2003
Walkley Award for Journalism Leadership
The Walkley Award for Journalism Leadership is an Australian award that recognises outstanding acts of courage and bravery in the practice of journalism, in the prestigious Walkley Awards series. The inaugural award, for Excellence in News Leader ...
in recognition of acts of courage and bravery in the practice of journalism.
Detainment in Israel
In 2010, McGeough travelled on a
Gaza-bound flotilla, reporting for ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' and ''Brisbane Times'' from aboard the ''MV Samoud'' (also known as the ''MV Challenger I'').
When Israeli forces boarded the flotilla's vessels on 31 May, McGeough and ''Herald'' photographer
Kate Geraghty were among those detained.
In an audio transmission sent shortly before the ''MV Samoud'' was intercepted, he said:
"At 4.20(am local time) (11.20am Sydney time) we realised all communications on the boat were jammed, 4.22 (am) – we see two zodiacs moving in, pressing through. Two more zodiacs. Now there are five of them astern of us. There's white wakes on black water. Search lights on one of the cargo ships and from the Turkish ferry are picking up the zodiacs now."
The following day, Fairfax confirmed that McGeough had, along with Geraghty, been detained by Israel in the city of
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
. According to the ''Heralds editor Peter Fray, McGeough turned down the option of being deported immediately, in return for signing a form in which he would have admitted entering Israel illegally.
When meeting with Australian and Irish consular officials in Beersheba's Ela prison, McGeough told them that he intended to challenge attempts by Israeli authorities to deport him.
However, Australia's
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and inv ...
and the ''Herald'' confirmed on 3 June that both McGeough and Geraghty had been taken to
Ben Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport, ; ar, مطار بن غوريون الدولي , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is th ...
in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
to be deported.
McGeough said that he had left "on legal advice that we will be able to appeal our deportation
''in absentia''".
Speaking to the ''Herald'' from Istanbul, McGeough described his treatment as "an absolute disrespect by Israel", accusing Israeli authorities of "a total disrespect to the fundamentals of democracy, and the fundamentals of the rights of journalists under the
Geneva Convention
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
".
Awards
* 2003
Walkley Award for Journalism Leadership
The Walkley Award for Journalism Leadership is an Australian award that recognises outstanding acts of courage and bravery in the practice of journalism, in the prestigious Walkley Awards series. The inaugural award, for Excellence in News Leader ...
and the 1997 Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year.
* 2010 Douglas Stewart award and Book of the Year for "Kill Khalid" at the 2010
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...
Works
*
Infernal Triangle Conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan and The Levant – Eyewitness reports from the September 11 decade', Allen & Unwin, 2011,
*
Kill Khalid: Mossad's failed hit ... and the rise of Hamas', Allen & Unwin, 2009,
to Baghdad : despatches from the frontline in the War on Terror'' Allen & Unwin, 2003,
*
In Baghdad: a reporter's war', Allen & Unwin, 2003,
''Mission impossible: the sheiks, the U.S. and the future of Iraq'' Black Inc., 2004,
Reviews
*''Kill Khalid'' (''Foreign Affairs''): "gem of leave-no-stone-unturned reporting".
*''Kill Khalid'' (''Washington Post''): "... timely and thorough examination of Hamas, highlighting the ways in which Israel has intentionally and unintentionally aided its rise."
''The Washington Post'', GREG MYRE, 8 March 2009; Page B01
References
External links
"Q and A: Paul McGeough"
''Columbia Journalism Review'', Katia Bachko, 11 February 2009
'' Vanity Fair'', 24 March 2009
"Paul McGeough’s ‘Kill Khalid’"
''WBUR: On Point'' 29 July 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGeough, Paul
Australian journalists
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Australian war correspondents
The Sydney Morning Herald people