Two journalists, Clément Di Roma and Carol Valade, have been awarded the 2022 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for his or her documentary “The Central African Republic underneath Russian affect”
This documentary is a Découpages/Arte G.E.I.E co-production, initially broadcast on Arte Reportage in French, German and English. It was additionally broadcast on France 24 and revealed within the French newspaper Le Monde.
Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, Pina Picierno, Vice-President accountable for the Prize, and Anthony Bellanger, Secretary Normal of the Worldwide Federation of Journalists and consultant of the 29 members of the impartial European-wide Jury, opened the award ceremony held within the Daphne Caruana Galizia Press Room of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
President Metsola mentioned: “The Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism sends a robust message. The European Parliament is on the facet of reality and justice, of impartial journalism.
A powerful democracy wants a robust press. And there’s no democracy with out freedom of the press. In Europe, rights and liberties are targets we battle for, not obstacles.”
Between the third Might and 1st August 2022, greater than 200 journalists from the 27 EU international locations submitted their tales for consideration. 11 of those submissions had been shortlisted by the jury earlier than the general winner was determined.
In regards to the winners
Clément Di Roma is a video and photojournalist correspondent for France24 based mostly in Rwanda. He began in 2019 as a reporter in Senegal for Agence France Presse. From 2020 until 2022 he was based mostly within the Central African Republic as correspondent for the channels France24 and TV5Monde. From Bangui, he lined the electoral disaster and the armed assaults of a insurgent coalition in opposition to the capital Bangui. A 12 months later, he directed with Carol Valade the profitable story “the Central African Republic underneath Russian affect / Centrafrique : le comfortable energy russe”.
Carol Valade has been a multi-media reporter specialising in Africa for 10 years. In 2018, he moved to the continent as a press correspondent and collaborated with RFI, AFP, TV5-Monde, Radio France and Le Monde amongst different worldwide media. He traveled all through West Africa to cowl the political disaster in Guinea, the resurgence of the Ebola epidemic, investigated the massacres of the twenty eighth September 2009, documented the variation to local weather change and the disappearance of elephants earlier than settling within the Central African Republic to report on the implications of the civil conflict and the Russian affect that’s the topic of the profitable story.
In regards to the profitable story
This movie is Clément Di Roma and Carol Valade’s first documentary and the end result of their work as correspondents within the Central African Republic in 2020. The nation was going via a wave of violence and abuses triggered by a brand new revolt, partly fought by Wagner, a shadow military serving the Kremlin’s pursuits. They investigated, filmed and continued their correspondence for a number of worldwide media regardless of the surveillance of Russian mercenaries and the prevailing hostility in opposition to the French media. It was additionally a query of constant the work of their three Russian colleagues, Orhan Djemal, Kirill Radchenko, and Alexander Rasstorguyev, murdered within the Central African Republic whereas investigating Wagner in 2018. Their primary concern has been the safety of their sources, particularly those that denounce the crimes of mercenaries, in a rustic the place disappearances of opponents are frequent. After a number of months of investigation, they gained the belief of Russian propaganda actors within the Central African Republic. Their voices had by no means been heard earlier than. With out bias, their documentary offers a voice to the victims of the mercenaries, but in addition to their supporters, to higher perceive the strategies of this takeover, facilitated by a resentment in direction of France. They needed to make all voices heard on this different entrance of the battle with Russia that’s now spreading to the Sahel on each navy and disinformation fields.
In regards to the Prize
The Daphne Caruana Prize was initiated by a choice of the Bureau of the European Parliament in December 2019 as a tribute to Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese anti-corruption investigative journalist and blogger who was killed in a automotive bomb assault in 2017.
The Prize rewards on a yearly foundation (on the anniversary of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia) excellent journalism that promotes or defends the core rules and values of the European Union akin to human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of legislation, and human rights.
Skilled journalists and groups {of professional} journalists of any nationality can submit in-depth items which were revealed or broadcasted by media based mostly in one of many 27 European Union member states. The intention is to assist and spotlight the significance {of professional} journalism in safeguarding freedom, equality and alternative.
The impartial jury consists of representatives of the press and civil society from the 27 European member states and representatives of the primary Europ ean Associations of Journalism.
The Prize and the €20.000 prize cash display the European Parliament’s sturdy assist for investigative journalism and a free press.
In October 2021, the Daphne Caruana Prize for Journalism was awarded to the journalists coordinated by the Forbidden Tales Consortium investigating the Pegasus Venture.
Who was Daphne Caruana Galizia?
Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese journalist, blogger and anti-corruption activist who reported extensively on corruption, cash laundering, organised crime, sale of citizenship and the Maltese authorities’s hyperlinks to the Panama Papers. Following harassment and threats, she was murdered in a automotive bomb explosion on 16 October 2017. The outcry over the authorities’ dealing with of her homicide investigation finally prompted the resignation of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Essential of failings within the investigation, in December 2019, MEPs referred to as on the European Fee to take motion.
