The Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon organised today, in collaboration with the Samir Kassir Foundation, the ceremony for the Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press, held on the 10th anniversary of Samir Kassir’s assassination.

 

The winners of the 2015 edition are the following:

 

Opinion piece category: Ayman Al-Ahmad (1984) from Syria, a freelance journalist working for several Syrian and Arab online publications and an author of short novels. His piece “Father, who is Michel Seurat?” published in the online magazine “Le printemps maudit” on 13 March 2015 is a tribute to the French writer whose name was considered taboo in Syria in the 1980s and 1990s, and a vibrant call for freedom of expression.

 

Investigative article category: Hesham Mannaa (1990) from Egypt, has been practicing investigative journalism for the last four years. His article, “Cleansing masks burn consumers’ faces” published on Veto Magazine website on 3 March 2015, reveals corruption practices in Egypt and the lack of respect for safety standards in products that directly affect people’s health.

 

Audiovisual report category: Mohammad Nour Ahmad (1982) is a Palestinian refugee in Syria who works in journalism and in music. His report, “Blue” produced and broadcast by Bidayyat.org on 3 October 2014, portrays the plight of civilians trapped inside the Yarmouk refugee camp and the role of music in keeping hope alive.

 

The Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press is granted by the European Union, and rewards journalists who have distinguished themselves through the quality of their work and their commitment to human rights and democracy. Organised every year since 2006, the Samir Kassir Award honours the memory of the Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir who was assassinated on 2 June 2005 in Beirut. The competition is open to countries in North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf. This year, the 158 applications received bring the total of participants since the creation of the award to over 1500. The award in each of the three categories is worth €10,000.

 

The Head of the Delegation of the European Union, Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst, underlined that "In 2014 alone, 60 journalists were killed worldwide – almost half of them in the Middle East. There is the perceived and there is the real growing pressure on professional journalism and on professional reporting. There is intimidation and arbitrary detention; there are increasing attempts to control media outlets". According to Ambassador Eichhorst "the Award teaches us why media pluralism is important; why we need a genuine free and open public discourse about issues of concern; why we need to keep open spaces for free expression to help reverse the increasingly negative trends of repression".

 

Gisèle Khoury, president of the Samir Kassir Foundation, emphasized that ten years after Samir Kassir’s assassination, the Arab world has changed but the commitment to the values of freedom and human rights remain and thrive against all odds.

As in previous years, an independent jury selected the winners. It comprised seven media professionals from Europe and the Middle East:  Nada Abdelsamad (Lebanon) presenter of a political programme on BBC Arabic television, also served as BBC Arabic’s bureau chief in Beirut; Christophe Ayad (France), head of the international service at the French daily Le Monde; Sahar Baassiri (Lebanon), former An-Nahar journalist from 1981 to 2009 and representative of the Samir Kassir Foundation in the jury; Magnus Falkehed (Sweden) a foreign affairs reporter for Sweden’s largest newspaper; Mary Fitzgerald (Ireland), a journalist and analyst specializing in the Euro-Mediterranean region with a particular focus on Libya; and Malek Khadraoui (Tunisia), an investigative and data journalist, publishing director of Inkyfada.com; and Rana Sabbagh (Jordan), executive director of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ).

The ceremony was hosted by Najat Charafeddine, journalist at Voice of Lebanon radio.