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Author Kamila Shamsie stripped of award over support for BDS
Author Kamila Shamsie

BRITISH-Pakistani author Kamila Shamsie said she was “saddened” today after being stripped of a literary award in Dortmund because of her support for the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The novelist was announced last week as the winner of the Nelly Sachs Prize, named after a Jewish poet and Nobel laureate.

But judges of the award, which is funded by Dortmund city council, said they had reversed their decision — which came after a complaint by right-wing blog Ruhrbarone.

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