Nigerien journalist, three others win 2024 International Press Freedom Awards

A Nigerien journalist, Samira Sabou, and three others have won the 2024 International Press Freedom Awards, presented annually by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organisation that promotes press freedom and defends the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

Ms Sabou was named as a recipient alongside three other journalists: Shrouq Al Aila, a Palestinian journalist, producer, and researcher reporting from the Gaza Strip, Alsu Kurmasheva (U.S. – Russia), a journalist and editor at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Quimy de León, a leading Guatemalan journalist, medical professional, and historian who has collaborated with international outlets such as Forbidden Stories.

CPJ said all four honourees were selected for their courageous reporting and resilience, despite the threat of war, prison, and prosecution.

“This year’s awardees, who cover Gaza, Guatemala, Niger, and Russia, have withstood extraordinary challenges to continue reporting on their communities while experiencing war, prison, government crackdowns, and the rising criminalization of their work.

“CPJ’s International Press Freedom Awardees symbolise the vital work carried out by reporters everywhere to report facts in the face of fierce attempts to suppress truth. In what has been a devastating year for journalists and press freedom, it is an honour to stand with them,” the CPJ CEO, Jodie Ginsberg, added.

Ms Sabou is one of Niger’s most prominent journalists and bloggers who had faced government backlash and prosecution for her investigative reports.

She is the president of the Association of Bloggers for Active Citizenship, which advocates a more prominent public role for women in Nigerien society and culture.

According to CPJ, Ms Sabou’s investigative reports published on her Facebook page have made her the target of repeated arrests and detention by the government of Niger.

“Throughout her prestigious career, Sabou has been arrested, detained, and subjected to years of legal harassment because of her reporting on governance issues. In response to the various legal proceedings brought against her, she stopped working for the media and only published on her social media accounts.

“In July 2023, the Nigerien military seized control of the government in a coup, overthrowing the democratically elected president. In September 2023, four men in plainclothes arrested Sabou without warning at her mother’s home. She was held by the men in an unknown location for eight days and then delivered to the judicial police, where she was able to contact her lawyer. Eleven days after being arrested on suspicion of maintaining “intelligence with a foreign power” and espionage, Sabou was provisionally released. The case is ongoing, though the espionage allegation was subsequently dropped.

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“Separately, in January 2022, Sabou and another Nigerien investigative journalist, Moussa Aksar, were convicted for violating the cybercrime law. Their appeal of the case is still pending. In 2020, Sabou was arrested on cybercrime charges and spent 48 days in detention while she was pregnant. This case also remains open.

“The challenges Sabou faces in continuing to cover Niger are similar to those faced by journalists across the Sahel, working under post-coup governments and in a context of insecurity,” CPJ stated.

A former director general of the press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Christophe Deloire, will be honoured posthumously with the 2024 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award in recognition of his sustained commitment to press freedom.

Ms Deloire led RSF for 12 years before his untimely death in June 2024.

“Christophe Deloire was a tireless advocate for media freedom and a strong partner in our efforts to help journalists globally. Honouring Christophe is recognition of his shining legacy and of all the journalists he supported throughout his career,” ” CPJ Board Chair Jacob Weisberg said in a statement.

The CPJ awards will be presented in New York City on 21 November. While John Oliver, host of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, will be the master of ceremonies, Jessica Lessin, founder of the technology news outlet The Information, will chair the event.