Anthony Lewis award for excellent journalism in the area of rule of law was established with the aim to single out journalists from all over the world who contributed to awareness-raising and understanding of the fundamental importance of rule of law.
At the award ceremony in the Hague, the award was received on behalf of CINS by Dino Jahić, the Editor-in-Chief.
According to the justification of the panel, CINS was awarded for a series of articles on systematic crime and corruption in Serbian society, corroborated by documentation, and with the focus on the fact that such cases of corruption are frequently not prosecuted before Serbian courts.
“Their tenacity reminds us of the vital role which independent journalism has in preservation of rule of law”, said Juan Carlos Botero, executive manager of the World Justice Project.
At the ceremony, Dino Jahić, the Editor-in-Chief of CINS, said that the aim of the research was to reveal to readers that the situation in the country is nowhere close to what the government and pro-governmental media present to citizens in a bogus and made-up reality.
“Corruption reaches almost every lawyer of authorities, including judicial, while politicians are not held accountable for malversations they participated in. We are proud that we did this in a classroom, most effective journalistic manner: by seeking information, indefatigably analyzing thousands of pages of documents, and presenting evidence for each sentence written. It is what investigative journalism should be”, said Jahić.
Previously, this recognition was given to Associated Press’ team of journalists for reporting on corruption and violation of human rights in fishing industry in Southeast Asia.
Maria Mendoza, a member of the panel from Associated Press, said that this year competition was exceptionally strong. “I am amazed by courage and profound dedication of these journalists – their stories, which are frequently told in the dark, bring light and transparency in exceptionally inaccessible and dangerous places “.
Beside this award, five journalists won a separate recognition for reporting on issues pertinent to rule of law: Diego Enrique Osorno (Mexico) Daniel Balint-Kurti & Leigh Baldwin (United Kingdom), Carolyn Raphaely (South Africa), and Anuj Chopra (Afghanistan).
Since 2016, this award was established in memory of Anthony Lewis (1927-2013), Pulitzer Prize winner, who reported on judicial institutions in the US for the New York Times. His reporting on the Constitutional Court in the post-apartheid South Africa inspired the establishment of the World Justice Project.
For CINS, this has been the sixth award over the last three months, since the series of stories on corruption and organized crime was also recognized with the prestigious European Press Prize.
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