Anniversary of the assassination of Anna Politkovskaya (7 October 2023)

Today, 7 October, marks the sad anniversary of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politskovskaya’s assassination 17 years ago. France pays tribute to the memory of this exceptional woman, who denounced the Russian armed forces’ human rights violations in Chechnya and devoted her life to truth and press freedom.

France stands by defenders of the free and independent press who, like her, are committed to guaranteeing the spread of information in every area of news, sometimes at risk to their lives. It was in tribute to her struggle and that of the AFP journalist and photographic reporter Arman Soldin, who was covering the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, that the Anna Politskovskaya-Arman Soldin Prize was created, on the initiative of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Mr Dmitri Muratov, [joint] winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2021 (which he dedicated in particular to his six murdered colleagues, including Anna Politskovskaya). The first of the prizes will be awarded on 2 November by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs on International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, created on France’s initiative by the United Nations in 2013.

The aim of the prize, which pays tribute to two figures who symbolize journalistic courage, killed while doing their job, is to honour the work of journalists committed to continuing their essential work of disseminating free, reliable, high-quality news about theatres of crisis or conflict.