Peter Niesewand

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Peter Niesewand (1944 – February 4, 1983) was a journalist and novelist. He was born in South Africa[1] but grew up in Rhodesia where he ran a news bureau, filing for the BBC, United Press, AFP, and many newspapers, notably the Guardian. On 20 February 1973[2] he was arrested and spent 73 days in solitary confinement for his exposure of conditions under the Smith regime 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, leaving behind his wife of three years, Nonie, and young son Oliver. He moved to Britain to complete his only non-fiction book, "In Camera: Secret Justice in Rhodesia"[3], and was named 1973 International Journalist of the Year, an award he won again in 1976 for his coverage of the Lebanese civil war, again for the Guardian. As their Asia Correspondent he also covered the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan from on the ground, experiences that inform his last novel, Scimitar. He subsequently returned to London to become their deputy news editor.

Niesewand is credited with originating terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez's 'Jackal' alias: "The nickname the Guardian reporter Peter Niesewand had inspired by mentioning the Forsyth thriller[4] found along with the arms cache in Angela Otaola’s bedsit was a perfect fit. Derogatory yet with just a hint of admiration for the cunning of the canine sometimes known as “the lion’s provider”." (in Colin Smith, "Carlos - Portrait of a Terrorist"[5])

Beside journalism, Peter Niesewand also wrote five novels: The Underground Connection (1978)[6], A Member of the Club (1979)[7], The Word of a Gentleman (1981)[8], republished as Undercut in 1984, Fallback (1981)[9], and Scimitar (1983)[10].

[edit] Notes and references
  1. ^ Time Magazine: "Making of a Nonperson", 19 March 1973. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906956,00.html
  2. ^ Time Magazine: "Bittersweet Victory", 14 May 1973. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,907255,00.html
  3. ^ In camera: Secret justice in Rhodesia; by Peter Niesewand. Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1973, ISBN 0297766767.
  4. ^ The Day of the Jackal; by Frederick Forsyth. Hutchinson, 1971, ISBN 0-09-107390-1.
  5. ^ Carlos - Portrait of a Terrorist; by Colin Smith. Sphere Books, 1976, ISBN 0233968431. Revised edition: Mandarin, 1995, ISBN 0-7493-2008-7.
  6. ^ The Underground Connection; by Peter Niesewand. Secker and Warburg, 1978, ISBN 043630595X. Paperback: Pan Books, 1979, ISBN 0330259121.
  7. ^ A Member of the Club; by Peter Niesewand. Secker and Warburg, 1979, ISBN 0436310201. Paperback: Pan Books, 1981, ISBN 0330263404.
  8. ^ The Word of a Gentleman; by Peter Niesewand. Secker & Warburg, 1981, ISBN 043631021X. Paperback (as Undercut): Panther, 1984, ISBN 0586056262.
  9. ^ Fallback; by Peter Niesewand. Granada, 1982, ISBN 0246117729. Paperback: Granada, 1983, ISBN 0586056157.
  10. ^ Scimitar; by Peter Niesewand. Granada, 1983. Paperback: Panther, 1984, ISBN 0586058516.