Reporters Without Borders awards Ukrainian photographers for documenting siege of Mariupol

The 30th Press Freedom Awards 2022 ceremony was held in Paris on Dec. 12. It is held annually by the RSF and identifies laureates in three categories:courage, impact and independence.

Read also: Ukrainian photographers share story of girl from Soledar whose parents refuse to evacuate

Ukrainian journalists and photographers Mstyslav Chernov and Yevhen Maloletka, the only reporters to cover the bombardment of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol for three weeks, were awarded the Prize for Impact.

“Reporting for the Associated Press, they were the only journalists to have documented the impact of the fighting and artillery bombardments in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol for 20 days in March 2022 for the international media,” RSF said on its website.

“Their photo of a pregnant woman injured in the shelling of a maternity hospital went around the world and drew international public opinion’s attention to what was happening in the besieged city. They worked in extremely difficult conditions, with the Russian army looking for them because of the impact of their photos, but they were helped by the population, who were aware of the importance of their work.”

Read also: How Russia is blasting Mariupol into the past

Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian journalist who is currently imprisoned, was awarded the RSF Prize for Courage for her tireless fight for press freedom and human rights. And Omar Radi, a Moroccan journalist who has been subjected to judicial harassment for his investigative reporting on sensitive subjects, and who is also currently in prison, was awarded the Prize for Independence.

The total of 15 journalists and media outlets from 15 different countries were nominated for this year’s RSF Prize.

Mstyslav Chernov’s documentary 20 days in Mariupol has been nominated for an award at the Sundance 2023 independent film festival in the World Documentary Competition category.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine