The 26th edition of the Unesco/Guillermo Cano Prize was marked by the absence of the laureates. An independent jury has named three Iranian communicators as winners of this prize, the only one awarded by the United Nations to journalists from all over the world. His first names are Niloofar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohammadi and Narges Mohammadi.

The first two are recognized for having been two of the most important journalists during the coverage of the death of the young woman of Mahsa Amini died on September 16 last year, after being detained by the morality police. Niloofar Hamedi wrote for the main newspaper against the Islamic regime, strong. The reporter was one of the first to report that Amini had died, having been left in a coma after being beaten by uniformed officers for not wearing her costume properly. hijab (the veil that Arab women wear to cover their heads and chests).

📝 We suggest: The wrong time for freedom of expression in Latin America

Hamidi has been held, under total isolation measures, in Evin Prison in Iran since September 2022, a prison known to be the detention center for prominent politicians and intellectuals who have criticized the Islamic regime in Iran.

As for elaheh mohammadiwrites the journalist for the reformist newspaper Ham Mihan and covered social issues and gender equality. She was one of the only female journalists to report on Masha Amini’s funeral, amid a law enforcement onslaught on thousands of people who took to the streets to protest the woman’s death under the guard of the moral police. . .

📌You may be interested: The reality of journalism: This is what the new free speech survey says

During these demonstrations, around 516 protesters were killed, including 70 children, and more than 19,200 people were arrested. Elaheh Mohammadi is also imprisoned in evin prison since September of last year.

Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi are the winners of the 2023 International Press Freedom Award from the NGO Canadian Journalists for Freedom of Expression; and the 2023 Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism from Harvard University. Additionally, they were named two of the magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023. Time.

📰 We also recommend: “The day Bukele says, any journalist goes to jail”: editor of “El Faro”

The third winner is Narges Mohammadi, one of the most visible faces of opposition to the Islamic regime. This journalist has worked for more than two decades as a reporter in various media in Iran and is the deputy director of the Center for Human Rights Defenders (DHRC) based in Tehran. He is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence in Evin prison.

Despite his imprisonment, Mohamaddi continued to report from prison. He has published reports, not only on his historical cause, the abolition of the death penalty in his country, but he recently published a series of reports on the inhuman conditions in which women prisoners live in Iran. Their work has revealed that they are victims not only of torture and ill-treatment, but also of sexual abuse.

👀🌎📄 Have you heard of the latest news around the world? We invite you to see them at El Espectador.