Peter Joseph Niesewand (30 June 1944 – 4 February 1983), journalist and novelist, was born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

but grew up in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

where he ran a news bureau, filing for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

, AFP, and many newspapers, notably the

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

. On 20 February 1973 he was arrested and spent 73 days in solitary confinement for his criticism of conditions under

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...

's government and his coverage of the guerrilla war. His sentence of two years hard labour for revealing official secrets was commuted on appeal after an international outcry. He was deported on release from prison, and left with his wife of three years, Nonie, and young son Oliver. He emigrated to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

to complete his only non-fiction book, "''In Camera: Secret Justice in Rhodesia''", and was named 1973 International Journalist of the Year, an award he won again in 1976 for his coverage of the

Lebanese civil war The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

, again for the ''

''. As their Asia correspondent he also covered the 1979 Soviet invasion of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

from on the ground, experiences that inform his last novel, ''Scimitar''. He subsequently returned to London to become their deputy news editor until his untimely death of a heart attack at the age of 38. Niesewand is credited by Colin Smith in ''Carlos - Portrait of a Terrorist'' for originating terrorist

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal ( es, link=no, Carlos el Chacal) or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convicted of terrorist crimes, and currently serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murder ...

's 'Jackal' alias:

Works

* Besides journalism and non-fiction Niesewand also wrote five novels: * * *, republished (after the success of ''Fallback'') as , * and *

Notes and references

External links

BBC TV report by Peter Niesewand on Rhodesia being declared a republic, 2 March 1970
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niesewand, Peter 1944 births 1983 deaths South African emigrants to Rhodesia Zimbabwean exiles Zimbabwean journalists People imprisoned on charges of terrorism Prisoners and detainees of Rhodesia 20th-century Zimbabwean writers Rhodesian emigrants to the United Kingdom Rhodesian journalists White South African people Naturalised citizens of Rhodesia White Rhodesian people Rhodesian writers 20th-century journalists