CPJ’s 2020 International Press Freedom Awards

Renowned Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam was detained by police in August 2018, just hours after he was interviewed on Al-Jazeera and posted a video on Facebook about student protests in the country. In November 2018, he was freed on bail after 102 days in detention.

(Photo courtesy Shahidul Alam)

Mosaed is a freelance journalist who has investigated corruption and labor issues for reformist media. In 2019, he was arrested after he posted to Twitter during an internet shutdown. He was released, but detained again and his Twitter account suspended after he criticized the government’s unprepared response to COVID-19. In September, he was sentenced to more than four years in prison.

(Photo courtesy Farid Kamran Nia)

Olorunyomi is the co-founder, CEO, and publisher of the Nigerian newspaper Premium Times. Both have been subjected to official harassment over the years. Olorunyomi has dedicated his life to holding the powerful to account and is a fierce advocate for press freedom.

(Photo courtesy Dapo Olorunyomi)

Prokopyeva is a regional correspondent for the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Russia, known as Radio Svoboda. In July, she was convicted on terrorism charges in relation to a radio show in which she discussed a suicide bombing.

(Photo courtesy Artiom Avanesov)

Amal Clooney specializes in public international law, international criminal law, and human rights. A strong advocate for press freedom, she has served as international counsel for several journalists under threat. She is currently representing Maria Ressa, CPJ’s 2018 Gwen Ifill award winner, who has been convicted of cyber libel, a criminal offense, in the Philippines.

(Photo courtesy Getty Images/Monica Schiffer)