Palm-Award

“Maryna Zolatava has demonstrated remarkable courage and integrity in the face of overwhelming obstacles and oppressive measures by the Russian-controlled state apparatus.”

(Statement from the Jury and RSF)

For almost 20 years, Maryna Zolatava was the editor-in-chief of Tut.by, which for a long time was the largest independent and most important news site in Belarus. After Lukashenko's sham election in August 2020, tut.by was blocked for “incitement to hatred” in the devastating wave of repression that followed. At the same time, members of the editorial team were subjected to lawsuits and harassment. The authorities took particularly harsh action against Maryna Zolatava. In March 2023, a court sentenced her to twelve years in prison. According to RSF, Belarus is currently the third country in the world with the most imprisoned media professionals.

“In the face of the Taliban's tyranny, which targets women and LGBTQI+ individuals in particular, the Zan Times team demonstrates tremendous courage by exposing and documenting almost unimaginable discrimination with its on-site journalistic work.”

(Statement from the Jury and RSF)

Zan Times is a predominantly women-led investigative news site that reports in and from Afghanistan on human rights violations. Since its founding in August 2022, it has represented the voices of the most marginalised groups in Afghanistan. The members of the editorial team oppose the systematic eradication of the participation and visibility of women and LGBTQI+ people from society, which has been carried out by the Taliban since their return, by focusing on reporting on the realities of their lives.

“It feels good to be here today because my smile meets your smile, and this calm and friendship that you show me and my colleagues at Coracon gives me assurance.”

Coracon receives the Palm-Award for its fearless journalistic work in the name of peace and democracy. 

Since the association was founded in North Kivu in 2005, more than 40 local radio and television stations have joined it. For centuries, the region has been characterised by violence and extreme poverty due to exploitation as well as border and refugee conflicts. The military occupation that has been in place since May 2021 has exacerbated the state of lawlessness. Army units and rebel groups are waging a power struggle that can hardly be surpassed in terms of brutality and is specifically directed against the civilian population.

“I'm a journalist by profession; I have to have contacts on all sides. I have to be on all sanctions lists as an enemy.”

Alexei Venediktov receives the Palm-Award for his decades of journalistic work in Russia. 

He had been editor-in-chief of the radio station Echo Moskvy since 1998 and built it up to become Russia's largest radio station. He and his team defended independent journalism principles against the autocratic regime's propaganda. Their critical stance often took them to the very edge of what could be said – and beyond.

His harsh criticism of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine led to the closure of Echo Moskvy on 1 March 2022. However, Alexei Venediktov has remained in the country and continues to broadcast his astute analysis of current political and social events via alternative channels. This underpins his reputation as one of the most influential and persistent critics of the ruling regime in Russia.

“In vom Krieg gepeinigten Ländern ist es die Pflicht der Schreibenden, Zeugen der gegenwärtigen Ereignisse zu bleiben und die Greul, den Horror und den Tod aufzuzeichnen."

Bushra Al-Maktari receives the Palm-Award for documenting the war in Yemen while putting her own life at risk and for impressively portraying human fates in a tormented country.

She has been working as a journalist and writer since 1998. During the Arab Spring in 2011, she was one of the central figures of the "March for Life" rally against President Ali Abdulah Saleh. As a result, religious forces imposed a fatwa on her for alleged crimes against Islam and demanded her death.

Since the outbreak of the war in 2015, Bushra Al-Maktari has travelled through her country under great peril and has meticulously documented over 400 personal stories. In her book "What have you left behind?" she reports on the murderous everyday life in a completely destroyed and internationally isolated country. Bushra Al-Maktari thus exposes herself to considerable personal risks, as she refuses any party affiliation and describes countless crimes against the civilian population. 

Her shocking work is an act of resistance against the senselessness of war and violence.

“Wenn ein automatisches Gewehr auf einen Stift schießt, wird die Geschichte zerfetzt. Von Kugeln getroffene Sprache wird zu gebrochenem Schilf. Blutige Sätze schwimmen auf dem Fluss.”

Gui Minhai receives the Palm-Award for his courageous criticism as an author, bookseller and publisher of the excesses of the autocratic one-party system in the People's Republic of China.

He published and edited numerous critical writings on the political system and influential personalities of the People's Republic of China. He was always aware of the dangers involved. At the end of 2015, he and other Hong Kong booksellers disappeared. Gui Minhai was deported from Thailand to China as a Swedish citizen. When he tried to get into the Swedish embassy in Beijing in 2018, he was arrested by the Chinese state security. In February 2020, a Chinese court sentenced him to ten years in prison for the alleged betrayal of governmental secrets. Since then he has been in an unknown location.

For the Palm-Foundation, Gui Minhai follows a traditional line with the person who gave this award its name and ideas: Like the historical bookseller and publisher Johann Philipp Palm, he also sets an outstanding example in the fight for the fundamental right to freedom of speech.

“Der Mangel an weiblicher Perspektive in der Medienberichterstattung und die weltweite Ungleichheit der Geschlechter existieren nur aufgrund der Tatsache, dass Frauen bisher dauerhaft von Entscheidungen ausgeschlossen waren.”

Josephine Achiro receives the Palm-Award for her outstanding commitment against violence, poverty and ignorance in Southern Sudan.

She is a key member of the CrossBorderNetwork, a transnational network of peace and media activists. Despite the dangers of the ongoing civil war, she and her team work to provide the population with reliable and vital news. She helps to set up citizen radio stations, trains people in dealing with the media and thus enables a free exchange of viewpoints and information.

With unprecedented confidence, Josephine Achiro encourages her fellow human beings to avoid the path of violence and warmongering and instead, to work for a peaceful future for all ethnic groups in her homeland. Deeply rooted in her Christian faith, she counters hatred with charity and violence with forgiveness.

She is thus positioned in close proximity to the tradition of the bookseller Johann Philipp Palm.

“Meine gesamte Aktivität ist das Resultat dessen, was ich als meine moralische und menschliche Pflicht empfinde, nicht weniger und nicht mehr.”

Štefica Galić receives the Palm-Award for decades of hard work and commitment against radical nationalism in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

In a clever and courageous manner, Štefica Galić along with her late husband Neđo Galić, saved hundreds of deported Bosniaks from prison camps during the Bosnian-Croat war in 1993.

Today, she is committed to the investigation of war crimes by naming the perpetrators and documenting their inhumane practices. She vehemently opposes nationalist thinking and the glorification of war in the political ruling class and in society. She is unswervingly striving for tolerance and reconciliation of all ethnic groups in her country.

The bestowal of the Johann Philipp Palm Prize is intended to set an example: Štefica Galić does not stand alone.

“Gegen jeden Widerstand, vom Exil aus, haben wir unsere Stifte wieder zur Hand genommen und informieren nun seit gut einem Jahr sowohl unsere Mitbürger, die im Land bleiben mussten, als auch jene, die nun seit einem Jahr in allen Ecken der Welt verstreut sind.”

Inès Gakiza receives the Palm-Award for her unbroken courageous reporting on the political repression in Burundi, in particular on the human rights violations which the illegitimate government is responsible for.

She had to leave her home country during a civil war; like other journalists, she was threatened by arbitrary arrest, extrajudicial execution and torture. In exile, however, she continues her work undeterred; she has founded an online radio station as well as the internet news magazine "Humura-Burundi". This passionate journalist continues to provide the people of Burundi daily with critical, native-speaking news and important information. She gives them a voice that they no longer have.

“Wir werden nicht Teil dieses Verbrechens sein!”

The group “Academics for Peace” receives the Palm-Award for their publicly formulated demand for peace and tolerance in Turkey.
The group, including Esra Mungan, Meral Camcı, Muzaffer Kaya und Kıvanç Ersoy, directed a petition on 11 January 2016 to resume the peace negotiations in the Kurdish areas of Turkey. In a short time, more than 2,000 signatory academics were exposed to the allegation of terrorist propaganda and were subjected to existential legal violations by the Turkish state: numerous members of the group were imprisoned, suspended from duty, received a travel ban or lost their academic and social reputation.

In spite of the enormous repression, the group "Academics for Peace" continue to hold its commitment to peaceful solidarity with other dissidents and to the fundamental right of freedom of speech.

“Während mich viele als Opfer sehen, weigere ich mich, diese Zuschreibung so anzuerkennen. Ja, sie haben mich gefangen genommen und gefoltert, aber das hat mich nicht gebrochen. Es gab mir Einsicht und die nötige Munition, zurück zu kämpfen und aufzustehen für meine Rechte und die Rechte meiner Kollegen.”

Nazeeha Saeed receives the Palm-Award for her courageous commitment to democratisation in Bahrain. 

Nazeeha Saeed reported in 2011 on the democratic uprising in her country. She was then taken into police custody and suffered significant reprisals. Because of this drastic experience Nazeeha Saeed became a tireless supporter of press freedom in Bahrain. She helps imprisoned colleagues gain public attention and provides training for journalists so that they can exercise their dangerous task as safe as possible and report in accordance with ethical principles. Nazeeha Saeed is a role model for the struggle for freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

“Dabei stärkt mich die Überzeugung, dass der Schein des Lichts, das Johann Philipp Palm um den Preis seines Lebens entzündet hat, auch künftig den Weg des Kampfes für Meinungs- und Pressefreiheit von Millionen Menschen nicht nur in meinem Usbekistan, sondern auf der ganzen Welt, beleuchten wird.”

(letter of thanks after his release in 2017)

Salidjon Abdurakhmanov receives the Palm-Award for his dauntless commitment to a free press in Uzbekistan. 

As an independent journalist he has written about judicial scandals, corruption and pollution. His outspoken reporting has had the subsequent outcome that he has been convicted on false charges contrary to the rule of law to ten years imprisonment. Since then, he is serving his sentence in a labour camp in Qarshi, where he is seriously ill.

By honouring Salijon Abdurakhmanov with the Johann-Philipp-Palm-Award, the Palm-Foundation would like to acknowledge that Salijon Abdurakhmanov is not forgotten.

“Am Ende haben sie ihn feige getötet, ihm sein Leben entrissen, ihn von uns genommen. Das System ergießt den Hass auf die bekannte Art von oben nach unten, er wird beigebracht, anerzogen, zum Ziel erklärt.”

(Rahil Dink about her murdered husband)

Hrant Dink receives the Palm-Award for the courage and perseverance with which he has employed throughout his entire life for freedom of speech and the press in Turkey, for Turkish-Armenian dialogues and against the systematic discrimination. 

Due to this commitment, he was persecuted for years by nationalist forces in society and the judiciary, and covered in lawsuits with no reason whatsoever. He was shot in 2007 in Istanbul by a nationalist on the street. With the posthumous award, those who consider Hrant Dink to be a symbol of overcoming discrimination and voicelessness should be encouraged.

The prize money goes to the Hrant Dink Foundation, which is based in Istanbul and continues his life's work. In diverse ways, it promotes freedom of speech and the press, which is absolutely constitutive for democracy. The Hrant Dink Foundation aims at strengthening the civil society in Turkey.

“Der Lohn des Schreibens ist die Wertschätzung. […] Der Lohn des Schreibens ist die Verteidigung der menschlichen Werte: des Rechts, der Gerechtigkeit und der Freiheit.”

Alaa al-Aswani receives the Palm-Award for his courageous efforts to democratise and liberalise the political system in Egypt. 

For years, he has insistently drawn attention with his writings to the political repression, the social ills and the corrupt structures in his country and thereby has gained worldwide recognition. With his perceptive, socio-political analyses, he has challenged the detached regime and comprised its repression.

Today, he turns against the dangers of religious tyranny and stagnation of the reform movement. Alaa Al Aswany is an unmistakable voice of democracy in the Arab world and one of the principal pioneers of the Arab Spring in Egypt.

“Ihre Aufmerksamkeit hat mir neue Kraft gegeben, dass unsere Vision für den Iran lebendig bleibt. Unser Volk, das seit mehr als 100 Jahren nach der Demokratie strebt, braucht für seine Zukunft eine solche Vision.”

Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh receives the Palm-Award for her tireless efforts in the fight for democracy and human rights in her country. 

She is a journalist and a leading opposition member against the repressive forces in Iran. With great courage she promotes the rights of women and the compliance of constitutional principles. For many years, Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh advocates the abolition of stoning and as a result puts herself in danger. She is a pioneer of freedom and equality. 

“Ich habe das Ziel, einen menschlichen Journalismus zu betreiben, der den Vergessenen eine Stimme gibt.”

Pedro Matías receives the Palm-Award for the courage and perseverance he shows as a journalist against anti-corruption and violent crimes in his native country. 

He uncovers social plight by investigative research and has made himself an advocate of the indigenous population in Oaxaca in numerous articles. Massive threats do not keep him from continuing his work. Pedro Matías is a role model for the struggle for freedom of the press and freedom of opinion. 

“I promise you that I will not let you down [...], that I will not let myself down; and I promise you even more that I will continue to stand up for people who are not allowed or able to raise their voices themselves.”

Seyran Ates receives the Palm-Award for her courageous and selfless commitment to fellow human beings under threat, through which she has become the target of violence and defamation. 

She advocates for one of the most vulnerable groups in our society: women and girls with a migration background. She gives them a voice, empowers them and makes demands for their equality in political disputes as well as the right to a self-determined life in freedom, all of which must be realised in a democratic constitutional state, regardless of cultural background.

“Freedom of speech is a prerequisite and a natural necessity for everyone, not a privilege. We are all born free and equal in human dignity and rights. Democracy is not only about gaining power but also about knowing when to let go.”

Itai Mushekwe receives the Palm-Award for his steadfast and critical reporting on the mismanagement and inhumane policies in Zimbabwe, which are associated with considerable risks to his own life and that of his family. 

In investigative articles, Itai Mushekwe reports on the dictatorship in his country, the persecution of the opposition and the brutalisation of the measures directed against them. As a critic of the Mugabe government, he fearlessly stands up for a free, peaceful and democratic Zimbabwe.

“In Belarus, the independent media are not dying a natural death. They are being destroyed, cynically and unscrupulously. Like a classic murder, there are clients and murderers. But there are also some peculiarities: the killers here do not hide behind a mask, nor do they carry firearms. [...] These killers are usually state officials and are covered up by the regime.”

Asya Tretyuk receives the Palm-Award for her courageous and precise reporting on the government of Belarus. Under extremely challenging circumstances, she has spent years fighting for the realisation of press and speech freedom in her nation.

Her educational work on the country's lack of rule of law and social issues is an outstanding example of a fearless fight for democracy and human rights.

“The journalist owes it to the public to provide them with enough details so that they can evaluate these facts and form their own opinions.”

The Point receives the Palm-Award for its unwavering journalistic work and the extraordinary personal commitment of its staff. 

As Gambia's first independent daily newspaper, The Point sets a courageous example for more democracy and human rights. The award is given in honour of Deyda Hydara, a prominent journalist and co-founder of The Point whose critical reporting exposed societal injustices in his nation and who bravely defended press freedom in the Gambia. He was murdered by unknown assailants in 2004.

“I asked the moon and the stars: please report on the tears of Afghan women in the world. Why don't these people on Earth feel our pain? But no voice came back.”

Malalai receives the Palm-Award for its careful and sustained efforts to bring about social reforms to strengthen the rights and self-confidence of women in Afghanistan, in a courageous confrontation with traditional resistance.

The women who make up Malalai's editorial team are thus setting an encouraging example that transcends cultural and geographical boundaries in the fight for freedom of speech and freedom of the press to strengthen democracy and human rights.

“When I was a little boy, I happened to see a boy stealing an apple. I was reluctant to turn him in. But the little thief, who was older and stronger than me, attempted to scare me into being silent. I was so offended by that that we got into a fight. I had to put up with a lot back then, of course. Ever since, I am unable to watch indifferently while a stronger person deceives and lies to a less powerful person.”

Sergei Duvanov receives the Palm-Award for his brave journalistic work. 

His persistent efforts to shed light on despotic acts of despotism, his unwavering commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of the press and his fearless advocacy of respect for the principles of the rule of law are evidence of an admirable commitment to the fight for democracy and human rights.

“Every era, every civilisation has its inquisition courts, its witch hunts and its bans against free thought and free speech. This freedom worries the conservative forces because it contains the seeds of human progress.”

Sihem Bensedrine receives the Palm-Award for her tenacious journalistic work and her extraordinary personal commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Tunisia. 

She thus sets an outstanding example in the fight for democracy and human rights across political and geographical borders.

“It is inconceivable that there are not enough clever people in politics, business and society who know the causes and effects exactly and who also attempt to find suitable solutions. But there is a lack of civil courage: to speak out openly, truthfully and possibly unpopularly, regardless of position or salary.”

Christian Führer receives the Palm-Award for his work as the initiator and spiritual director of the prayers for peace in the St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig in the autumn of 1989.

He thus made a significant contribution to the fall of the totalitarian system in the former GDR. Even today, he continues to act bravely in opposition to right-wing radicalism and xenophobia, never losing his pugnacious passion for democracy and human rights.