New Delhi: The Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Awards will be presented at the Getty Images Gallery in London on November 8. The nominees have been chosen from across the world for the three international awards that will be given away. A special ‘L’esprit de RSF’ prize has been created for the UK media to mark London’s hosting of RSF’s prestigious Press Freedom Awards, a statement from RSF said.
We’re extremely pleased to be on a shortlist which such deserving nominees for the “L’esprit de RSF” award at @RSF_inter‘s #PressFreedom Awards! Have a look at the full list of nominees, stacked with awe inspiring journalism from all around the globe ?https://t.co/WeNERpNJNO
— The Bureau Local (@bureaulocal) October 18, 2018
The 12 nominees include journalists, NGOs and media organisations. Matthew Caruana Galizia, a Maltese journalist and activist whose mother, Daphne Caruana Galizia, was assassinated in 2017 following her investigations into corruption, is one of the nominees. Others include Paolo Borometti, an Italian journalist and expert on the Sicilian mafia whose murder plot was foiled by Italian police and Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the Ghanaian undercover reporter who is currently living in hiding after his revelations about bribery alarmed the African football world.The nominee from India is Swati Chaturvedi (whose reports have appeared in The Wire). Chaturvedi is also the author of I am a Troll: Inside the Secret World of the BJP’s Digital Army. The RSF statement has described Chaturvedi as “an Indian freelancer taking on social media mobs”.
Rebecca Vincent, UK Bureau Director for RSF tweeted, “Excited about the special new UK prize created for this year’s @RSF_inter’s #PressFreedom Awards in London: ‘L’esprit de RSF’….”
Excited about the special new UK prize created for this year’s @RSF_inter‘s #PressFreedom Awards in London: ‘L’esprit de RSF’. The shortlist is outstanding: @carolecadwalla, @miss_marriage, @bureaulocal, & @BBC & @guardian (for joint #ParadisePapers work). https://t.co/Q6Ax2qaex0 pic.twitter.com/gd577638o1
— Rebecca Vincent (@rebecca_vincent) October 18, 2018
The awards for 2018 were chosen by a high-profile international jury comprising Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and Chinese activist Wu’er Kaixi – both RSF emeritus board members – as well as RSF President Pierre Haski. RSF’s UK advisory board – including Fleet Street legend Eve Pollard, former director of BBC News James Harding, and Channel 4 news anchor Jon Snow – selected the winner of the special ‘L’esprit de RSF’ prize.