“The International Center of Journalists (ICFJ) presents this award in recognition of the exceptional impact of journalists and their dedication to exposing wrongdoing.”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
The ceremony took place in Washington on November 14. The International Center for Journalists presents this award in recognition of the exceptional influence of journalists and their dedication to exposing wrongdoing.
During the ceremony, in her speech, Valeriya Yehoshina emphasized that “since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has committed 664 crimes against Ukrainian journalists, including murders, threats, attacks on the media, cyber attacks, legal pressure, etc.”
Separately, the journalist mentioned her colleagues from the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty, in particular Vera Hyrych, who died on April 28, 2022 in Kyiv as a result of a Russian rocket hitting the apartment building in which she lived, as well as Vladyslav Yesipenko, a freelancer of the Radio Liberty Crimea.Reality project, which takes place 5-year sentence in a Russian prison.
“In these times, journalism is a way of avoiding fear. It is to be a participant in events, a driver of change and a real source of information, as well as the voice of war victims. We live the news we prepare. News about events on the front lines and in the so-called peaceful cities. We live the interview. With those who have lost hope and those who inspire it. We live on reports. About people, events and cities that are being rebuilt and those that simply no longer exist. And we live by investigations in our team called “Schemes”. Investigations into war crimes, which no one taught us to do before. And corruption investigations, since we are not only a country that is at war now, but also a country that chose the path of democracy during the Revolution of Dignity. So, while we are fighting here and now, we, as journalists, must also take care of building a decent future, even if not everyone will be able to see it,” Valeriya said.
“Scheme” journalist Valeria Yehoshina was honored for documenting the impact of the Russian war on Ukraine, investigating war crimes committed by the Russian army, and exposing corruption schemes in Ukrainian military contracts. Separately, the members of the jury noted Yehoshina’s reports from the de-occupied territories, as well as her skills in technical analysis of recordings from mobile phones and satellite images.
Valery Yehoshina’s victory is the second time in the 26-year history of this award that Ukrainian journalists have been honored. In 2022, it was awarded to Mstislav Chernov, Yevhen Maloletka and Vasylisa Stepanenko for documenting the Russian invasion and siege of Mariupol.
In addition to the Ukrainian journalist, reporter John-Allan Namu from Kenya and editor Rana Sabbah from Jordan received the award.