PRESS RELEASE
The Fetisov Journalism Awards announced today are a tribute to “superb journalism in troubled times”. The 12 winners have been chosen from 400 stories submitted from 80 countries and are revealed on Earth Day – highlighting the importance of environmental journalism, one of the four prize categories along with Outstanding Investigative Reporting, Contribution to civil rights and Outstanding Contribution to Peace.
The 12 winning projects included seven team entries and involved a total of 21 journalists.
Aidan White, President of the Ethical Journalism Network and Honorary Advisor to the Fetisov Journalism Awards said:
“The winners of this year’s Fetisov Journalism Awards are chosen in troubled times. And they are superb examples of fact-based journalism that people need to meet these challenges.”
“These winning stories demonstrate why truth-telling journalism is important to all of us. Today we pay tribute to all the winners, and we congratulate them! They have done good work, and they have made a difference to people’s lives.”
“They are an inspiration to all of us and a reminder that ethical and stylish journalism with public purpose remains a lifeblood of democracy.”
The First Prize in the category for Outstanding Investigative Reporting went to the team of authors from France for their stories “Uncovered: The Buried Truth of Assassinated Journalist Regina Martínez”, “Mexican Cartels: ‘The Asian Connection’”, “An Ocean of Guns: Mexico's Journalists in the Crossfire of the International Arms Trade”, which are a part of the “Cartel Project”. The Second Prize went to Yudhijit Bhattacharjee (US) and Smita Sharma (India) for their investigation “Stolen Lives. The Harrowing Story of Two Girls Sold into Sexual Slavery”. Third Prize was awarded to Zecharias Zelalem (Ethiopia) and Will Brown (Kenya) for their series “African Migrants 'Left to Die' in Saudi Arabia’s Hellish Covid Detention Centres”.
The First Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Peace was awarded to Olatunji Ololade (Nigeria) for his story “The Boys Who Swapped Football for Bullets”. The Second Prize went to Haris Rovčanin and Albina Sorguč from Bosnia and Herzegovina for their series of articles: "BIRN Fact-Check: Is the Bosnian Serb Report on the Sarajevo Siege Accurate?"; "Serb Chetniks’ Links to War Criminals and Extremists Uncovered"; "Bosnian Serb Military Police Chiefs Never Charged with Srebrenica Killings"; "28 Years On, Families Still Searching for Missing Bosnian Soldiers". The Third Prize was awarded to Ali Al Ibrahim (Sweden) and Khalifa Al Khuder (Syria) for their story “Syria’s Sinister Yet Lucrative Trade in Dead Bodies”
The First Prize in the Contribution to Civil Rights category went to Sukanya Shantha (India) for her series “Barred–The Prisons Project”. The Second Prize prize went to Corinne Redfern (Italy) and Ali Ahsan (Bangladesh) for their story “She Was Trafficked into a Giant Brothel. Now She Runs It”. The Third Prize was awarded to Monica Jha (India) for her story “The Testimony”.
The Second Prize in Excellence in Environmental Journalism category was shared between Bhrikuti Rai (Nepal) for her series: “Drawing a Line in the Sand”, “Permit to Plunder: How the Environment is Paying the Price for Nepal Local Governments’ Greed”, “Environment Conservation Takes a Back Seat in the Budget” and the international team of authors Sarah Maslin, Stephan Kueffner and James Tozer (Brazil /Ecuador/UK) for their series “Dispatches from the Amazon Under Pressure”. The Third Prize went to Karla Mendes (Brazil) for her investigation “Déjà Vu as Palm Oil Industry Brings Deforestation, Pollution to Amazon”.
The first prize-winners receive a cash prize of 100,000 CHF. The second and third prizes are 20,000 CHF and 10,000 CHF respectively.
Watch the video presentation on FJA YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/neZdxPqj-U0
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