World Press Freedom Prize 2007 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2007 has been awarded posthumously to a Russian reporter Anna Politkovskaya.
Date Added: 06-05-2002 16:28
Date Modified: 21-01-2009 9:07
Accepting the recommendation of an independent international jury of media professionals, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today designated Anna Politkovskaya, the late Russian journalist, as the laureate of the 2007 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
Kavi Chongkittavorn, President of the UNESCO/Guillermo World Cano Press Freedom Prize jury of fourteen professional journalists and editors from all over the world, explained the jury's choice:"Anna Politkovskaya showed incredible courage and stubbornness in chronicling events in Chechnya after the whole world had given up on that conflict. Her dedication and fearless pursuits of the truth set the highest benchmark of journalism, not only for Russia but for the rest of the world. Indeed, Anna's courage and commitment were so remarkable, that we decided, for the first time, to award the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize posthumously." >> Read morePress release in Russian / French / Spanish / Arabic
Anna Politkovskaya: murdered because she stood alone
For the first time this year, the UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize was awarded posthumously, to the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Despite fear and threats, she continued to cover the situation in Chechnya until she was murdered. She used to say “Words can save lives.” She was convinced her testimony could help mentalities evolve. Yet words finally killed her. Anna Politkovskaya was murdered on Saturday 7 October 2006, shot down as she was coming home, on Lesnaya street in Moscow. Her last article on Chechnya, unfinished, was published by her newspaper Novaya Gazeta (circulation: one million) a few days after her death.