Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards exist to celebrate individuals or groups who have had a significant impact fighting censorship anywhere in the world.
Awards were offered in: defence of freedom of expression; circumvention of censorship; whistleblower of the year; for journalistic integrity and an ironic award for services to censorship.
Tony Kevin, who was working for the Australian Foreign Service for 30 years, became famous for exposing the Australian navy’s role in the death of several hundred refugees following the sinking of the SIEV-X (Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel) in 2001.
The satellite news station Al-Jazeera was honoured for providing news and images that the western media ignored or deemed inappropriate.
Hashem Aghajari is an Iranian dissident who was sentenced to death in 2002 for blasphemy after he spoke out in public not to ‘blindly follow’ Islamic clerics. After international protests his sentenced was reduced to lifetime in prison. He was freed on bail on 31 July 2004.
Fergal Keane is an internationally recognised journalist who has reported from some of the world’s major trouble spots from Northern Ireland to Rwanda and is known for his hard-hitting and often moving reports. He was awarded for his coverage of Zimbabwe and his work in general.
Jonathan Moyo, in his position as Minister for Information and Publicity of Zimbabwe, was awarded with this ironic award for stifling the media and suppressing free expression.
