2023-11-29 02:11:51
The journalist Jose Rubén Zamora, founder of elPeriódico, was awarded this Tuesday, November 28 during the presentation of the Press Freedom Prize of the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which each year exalts the work of journalists and media outlets. that contribute to the defense and promotion of press freedom in the world.
The award ceremony for the 31st edition of the Press Freedom Prize took place this Tuesday in Brussels, Belgium, in the presence of the director of the Center for Civil Liberties and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Oleksandra Matviichuk, and the vice president of the European Commission, Vera Jourova, reported RSF on its social networks.
“The awards have been awarded to journalist Juan Pablo Barrientos, who, despite repression, continues to reveal stories about crime and corruption to the Colombian public (Impact category); to blogger Mohamed Oxygen for his commitment to the right to information in Egypt (Courage category); to the founder of elPeriódico, Jose Rubén Zamora, victim of judicial harassment due to investigations into corruption in Guatemala revealed by his newspaper (Independencia category); and the French photographer Karine Pierre for her moving photographic report Take me home! about two shelter centers where hundreds of disowned women and children live locked up in Pakistan (Photography category “Lucas Dolega-SAIF”),” says RSF.
He added that the jury for the 31st edition of the awards was made up of “eminent journalists and defenders of freedom of expression from around the world” and that this year it was chaired by French journalist and columnist Pierre Husky, president of RSF.
It was reported that this year there were 21 nominees from 18 countries, among which was Jose Rubén Zamora, imprisoned in Guatemala since July 29, 2022 on charges of alleged money laundering.
From that account it was his son, José Carlos Zamora, who attended the award ceremony and after learning that his father won the independence award said: “Thank you for recognizing the tireless effort that my father and the elPeriódico team have made. done for 27 years by journalism.”
“Founder of the newspaper elPeriódico, which for two decades has denounced the corruption of the Guatemalan political class, Jose Rubén Zamora has become the target of threats and genuine judicial harassment. In July 2022, he was arrested for a (clearly staged) money laundering case and spent a year in preventive detention,” states the RSF.
“Later, in May 2023, his newspaper was forced to close. His sentence, in June 2023, to six years in prison was annulled on appeal on October 13, but he remains imprisoned until a new trial is held,” RSF notes in the publication of the winners.
#RSFAwards2023: Congratulations to Jose Rubén Zamora, winner of the 2023 Independence Prize! #Guatemala pic.twitter.com/gwPkjt8vQE
— RSF (@RSF_inter) November 28, 2023
Other winners
Courage Award: Mohamed Ibrahim Radwan (Mohamed Oxygen) (Egypt)
“After being released in early 2019 after serving a five-year prison sentence, Mohamed Radwan was placed under surveillance and not allowed to resume his work as a journalist, but when protests broke out in September of that same year, the Blogger, known as “Mohamed Oxygen” for the name of his blog, Egypt’s Oxygen, covered the demonstrations regardless. “His commitment to the right to information was interpreted as an act of defiance by the authorities.”
He was arrested again and sentenced to five years in prison for “publication of false news.” In today’s Egypt, the name Mohamed Oxygen is synonymous with courageous journalism.”
Juan Pablo Barrientos Impact Award (Colombia)
“Thanks to your work, Colombia learned, last year, the identity of 26 priests accused of sexual crimes. Author of the book “Let the Children Come to Me,” Juan Pablo Barrientos has suffered persecution and attempts at censorship for seven years for his investigations into this matter and other topics related to cases of corruption. His reporting allows Colombian society to identify criminals and fight against impunity.”
“Lucas Dolega-SAIF” Photography Award Karine Pierre (France)
“Karine Pierre began her journey in photography as a self-taught person during the November 2015 attacks in Paris, and joined the Hans Lucas agency at the end of 2017. After covering the front line in Tripoli (Libya), she left to Beirut, where he settled for two years. She continued her background work while collaborating with newspapers such as Le Monde and The Washington Post. In Pakistan, she directed the series Take me home! (Take Me Home!), which documents violence against women in two women-only shelters in Karachi and Multan. Disowned by their husbands, rejected by their families, victims of years of abuse, most of these women will spend the rest of their lives within those walls.”
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