Three jailed Iranian women journalists win UN press freedom award
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Raven Ruma
- . May 3, 2023
- . Update: May 3, 2023 3:16 pm
Three imprisoned Iranian female journalists have won the United Nations’ top award for press freedom “for their commitment to truth and accountability.”
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On Tuesday evening, the UN said that its premier prize for press freedom was awarded to Niloufar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohammadi, and Narges Mohammadi. These three journalists are currently detained in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Niloufar Hamedi, an Iranian journalist who works for the daily newspaper Shargh, won the prestigious award for reporting about the 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, who died in morality police custody in September 2022 for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loosely. She was arrested for breaking the news about Mahsa Amini.
Elaheh Mohammadi, an Iranian journalist who reports on women’s issues, won the prestigious award for reporting about Mahsa Amini’s funeral in the northern Iranian city of Saqqez.
Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian human rights activist and the Vice President of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, worked as a journalist for several years. She is famous for her work and activities as an activist.
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Press Freedom Prize honours the outstanding performance of journalists. It takes place every year on World Press Freedom Day on 3 May.
The World Press Freedom Prize is coined for Guillermo Cano, a Colombian journalist who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper El Espectador in Bogota, the Capital of Colombia, on December 17, 1986.
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Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO, announced the names of the winners at a ceremony in New York in the United States. Audrey Azoulay said, “Now more than ever, it is important to pay tribute to all women journalists who are prevented from doing their jobs and who face threats and attacks on their personal safety.”
Zainab Salbi, an Iraqi American women’s rights activist, lauded the brave work of the three winners.
