The Fritt Ord Foundation, Oslo, Norway, and the Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius “ZEIT” Foundation, Hamburg, Germany, announced the winners of Prize Free Press of Eastern Europe for 2011. The awardees became four journalists from Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Belarus, Russian weekly “Chernovik” and the website of “A1+” TV company (www.a1plus.am).
The Annual Gerd Bucerius Prize Free Press of Eastern Europe was established by “ZEIT” Foundation in 2000 to encourage journalists, “who, despite official pressures and economic difficulties, defy censorship in all its manifestations including self-censorship”. Since 2004 this award has been granted in collaboration with Norwegian Fritt Ord Foundation.
The award ceremony of 2011 laureates will take place on June 15 in Oslo at the Norwegian Nobel Institute.
It should be noted that the Armenian media representatives receive the Prize Free Press of Eastern Europe for already the third time: in 2010 the Prize winner was Edik Baghdasarian, Chairman of “Investigative Journalists” NGO and Editor of “Hetq” newspaper, in 2009 – free-lance journalist Marianna Grigorian.
