Romania’s “Order of Faithful Service” by President Traian Basescu

RFE/RL

Romania’s “Order of Faithful Service” was given by President Traian Basescu to RFE/RL Moldovan Service Director Oana Serafim and two former Romanian
Service journalists.

Zardabi Award presented by the Independent Azerbaijani Union of Journalists

RFE/RL

Arifa Kazimova, Baku bureau news editor for RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, won the country’s top journalism prize. The Zardabi Award, which is presented by the independent Azerbaijani Union of Journalists, recognizes outstanding journalistic work from independent media outlets, as well as pro-government and opposition media.

Special Prize for Peace Journalism from the Delegation of the European Union to
Georgia

RFE/RL

Pain and Hope from Sarajevo conveys Goga Aptsiauri’s impressions and experiences traveling to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Aptsiauri’s article was informed by his own first-hand experience with war as a journalist working in the conflict zone around South Ossetia.

Prize for Best Blog Report from the Delegation of the European Union to
Georgia

RFE/RL
Be Lysistratas, by Lasha Bughadze

Best Human Rights Journalist of the Year from the Belarusian Association of Journalists and Human Rights Alliance

RFE/RL

“Liberty in Prisons,” Alena Pankratava’s signature 24-minute radio show, is broadcast every week by RFE/RL’s Belarus Service. In it, she reports on daily conditions in prisons, drawing on letters sent to her by prisoners who are currently serving sentences and those who have been released, usually with the author’s name omitted for their protection. The letters relate accounts of harsh treatment, unsanitary conditions, and repeated solitary confinement. Pankratava also interviews prisoners’ family members who hope that by speaking out about their relative’s treatment, conditions might improve.