EUROPEAN UNION Delegation of the European Union to

Beirut, 2 June 2016 PRESS RELEASE

Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press

The European Union rewards three journalists from and Egypt, winners of the 2016 edition

The Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon organised on 2 June, in collaboration with the Samir Kassir Foundation, the ceremony for the Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press, held on the 11th anniversary of Samir Kassir’s .

The winners of the 2016 edition are:

- Opinion piece category: Maher Massoud (born in 1977) from Syria, an opinion writer for many Arab newspapers, magazines and websites and a researcher at the Institut français du Proche- Orient (IFPO). His piece entitled "Speech Land" and published on the "Tloana Al-Horriyeh" website on 8 March 2016 asserts that there is no return to the time of silence in Syria in spite of the destruction and the failure to achieve a democratic transition.

- Investigative article category: Mohammad Tarek (born in 1989) from Egypt, an investigative journalist at "Al-Masry Al-Youm" newspaper. His piece entitled "A Span and a Fist" and published in "Al-Masry Al-Youm" on 21 February 2016 is a graphic description of the terrible state of detention centres in Egypt and the suffering of inmates and their families.

- Audiovisual report category: Matar Ismaïl (born in 1988) from Syria, has been covering developments in Syria since the very beginning of the uprising in March 2011. Since 2013, he is the correspondent of "Al-An" TV. His film entitled "Love under Siege", produced by "Bidayat" and broadcast online by "Ana Press" and "Al-Modon" on 27 December 2015 sheds light on the daily life of a Syrian family struggling to survive under siege south of Damascus.

The Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press is funded 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 . The competition is open to journalists from the countries of North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf. This year, the 259 applications that were received bring the total of participants since the creation of the award to over 1750. The award in each of the three categories is worth €10,000.

The Head of the Delegation of the European Union, Ambassador Christina Lassen, underlined that "it is the freedom of speech and particularly the freedom of press that was dear to the heart of Samir Kassir, as it is cherished in the values and principles of the European Union". According to Ambassador Lassen "the 11th edition of the Samir Kassir Award is dedicated to all the journalists who are carrying out courageous and brilliant work in the Middle East, in North Africa and the Gulf, sometimes putting their lives at risk doing their job".

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Gisèle Khoury, President of the Samir Kassir Foundation, emphasised that “the revolution whose foundations were laid by Samir Kassir through his writings and ideas does not stop if faced by despots and tyrants, nor by laws enacted under the pretext of fighting terrorism. It is living in the minds, hearts, eyes and pens of all those who believe in it, across the globe, as demonstrated by the tremendous number of applicants to this year’s Award.”

As in previous years, an independent jury selected the winners. It comprised seven media professionals from Europe and the Middle East: Khalil Abdallah (Palestine) Washington D.C.- based senior photojournalist for CNN; Frédéric Domont (), former bureau chief of Radio France International in Beirut and CEO of production house Median; Fatemah Farag (Egypt), founder and CEO of "Wlad el-Balad" Media Services and former chief editor of Egypt Independent; Sanaa al-Jack (Lebanon) senior columnist, journalism and media development trainer; Natalie Nougayrède (France), foreign affairs columnist at the Guardian and former executive and managing editor of Le Monde; Alberto Toscano (Italy), president of the European Press Club in Paris; and Michael Young (Lebanon), writer, columnist and chief editor at the Carnegie Middle East Center.

The ceremony was hosted by Najat Charafeddine, journalist at Voice of Lebanon radio and Al- Araby TV.

All information about the 2016 edition of the Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press, the winning articles and audiovisual report, as well as biographies, articles and reports of all previous winners since 2006, are available on the website www.samirkassiraward.org.

Contact

Silke Höfs, Tel: +961 1 56 94 00 ext. 204 [email protected]