‘We have taken risks to tell the stories,’ says press freedom awardee

WASHINGTON — 

This clip past year, American writer Alsu Kurmasheva was successful a Russian prison, jailed connected bogus charges.

On Thursday night, escaped from her ordeal, she accepted a prestigious property state grant from the Committee to Protect Journalists, oregon CPJ, successful New York.

“This is simply a precise affectional infinitesimal for me. It means truthful much,” Kurmasheva told VOA soon earlier receiving her award. “I volition instrumentality this accidental to code the full satellite to repetition again that journalism is not a transgression and each journalists who are down bars contiguous should beryllium released astatine once.”

A dual U.S.-Russian nationalist who works astatine VOA’s sister outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty successful Prague, Kurmasheva was jailed successful Russia for much than 9 months connected charges wide viewed arsenic politically motivated.

During her acceptance speech, Kurmasheva recounted her acquisition successful prison. “I tried not to look up arsenic the snowfall was falling due to the fact that I couldn’t carnivore seeing the galore layers of barbed ligament betwixt maine and the sky,” she said.

Kurmasheva, American Wall Street Journal newsman Evan Gershkovich and different governmental prisoners were released from Russia this August successful a historical captive swap betwixt Moscow and Washington.

“It’s an awesome work to beryllium a beacon of light, and my communicative is an illustration of the terms that tin beryllium paid for reporting the truth,” Kurmasheva said Thursday night.

Kurmasheva is among 4 journalists CPJ honored with its yearly International Press Freedom Awards. The others are Quimy de Leon from Guatemala, Samira Sabou from Niger and Shrouq Al Aila from Gaza.

The awardees travel from antithetic parts of the globe, but a communal thread is however they person encountered efforts to criminalize journalism, said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg.

“That’s thing that we spot progressively crossed the world, is the usage and maltreatment of laws to punish journalists for speaking information to power,” Ginsberg told VOA.

During her acceptance speech, Kurmasheva highlighted her RFE/RL colleagues who are inactive jailed connected charges that are wide viewed arsenic retaliatory.

Journalists Ihar Losik and Andrey Kuznechyk are jailed successful Belarus; Vladyslav Yesypenko is jailed successful Russia-occupied Crimea; and Farid Mehralizada is jailed successful Azerbaijan. RFE/RL rejects the charges against each of them arsenic false.

“My colleagues are not conscionable statistics. Like me, they’re existent quality beings with families who miss and emotion them,” Kurmasheva said.

Like Kurmasheva, de Leon and Sabou cognize each excessively good the costs that tin travel with doing their jobs.

Sabou, an investigative journalist, has faced years of ineligible harassment implicit her sum of governance issues successful Niger. The newsman has been jailed connected aggregate occasions, but she inactive reports.

“What would the satellite beryllium without the microphones, cameras and pens of journalists?” Sabou said during her acceptance speech.

Late past month, Sabou told VOA that she plans to usage the level from the grant to assistance amended conditions for journalists successful her location country.

“It’s a prize for property freedom, truthful what we program to bash with it is to enactment justly to amended the property state environment,” she said.

De Leon has besides faced ineligible threats and different forms of harassment implicit her reporting, which focuses connected biology issues and quality rights successful Guatemala.

“We person taken risks to archer the stories emerging from our realities and to question truth, adjacent erstwhile it means challenging power,” she said Thursday night.

The black-tie gala was hosted this twelvemonth by John Oliver, who hosts the Emmy-winning satirical quality amusement “Last Week Tonight.”

During his opening remarks, Oliver noted that property state experts foretell the First Amendment volition beryllium nether menace successful the United States during President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.

“It looks similar we are going to beryllium called connected to support journalists and media state close present successful the United States,” Oliver said.

In Ginsberg’s remarks, she said CPJ volition support journalists wherever they are nether threat. “In this moment, we volition not beryllium bullied. We volition not deviate from our mission, not shrink from the challenges we face, including and particularly present successful the U.S.,” she said.

Not each of the awardees were capable to attend. Al Aila, the Palestinian journalist, was incapable to permission Gaza due to the fact that of the Israel-Hamas war.

The warfare is the deadliest struggle connected grounds for journalists, according to CPJ data. As of Thursday, astatine slightest 137 journalists and media workers were killed successful the conflict, including 129 Palestinians, 2 Israelis and six Lebanese.

“Not lone has it been intolerable for planetary journalists to get into Gaza, but increasingly, astir intolerable for journalists oregon anyone other to get retired of Gaza,” Ginsberg told VOA. “We are reasoning of [Al Aila] and each journalists who are moving nether unimaginable conditions presently successful Gaza.”

Al Aila took complaint of the autarkic accumulation institution Ain Media aft her hubby Roshdi Sarraj, who co-founded the company, was killed successful the war.

On Thursday night, CPJ besides honored the precocious Christophe Deloire, erstwhile caput of Reporters Without Borders, with its yearly Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award. A longtime property state advocate, Deloire died successful June from cancer.

“To everyone who carries connected this bequest — present successful the country tonight, and astir the satellite — convey you. This grant is for Christophe, for it is besides for you,” Deloire’s wife, Perrine Daubas, said successful her speech. “Because this fight, present much than ever, is ours.”