Index on Censorship magazine was awarded the Amnesty International Media Award for best periodical at a ceremony in London. The award was given for a series of articles from the issue ‘How Free is the Russian Media?’.  The magazine was praised for its ´brave, impassioned journalism´. (17-JUNE-08) 

Written by Padraig Reidy

Presenting the award to Index’s Jo Glanville, Private Eye editor Ian Hislop said that the articles, by Fatima Tlisova, Sergei Bachinin and Alexei Simonov represented ‘brave impassioned journalism as stunning defences of principle’. National Union of Journalists Secretary General Jeremy Dear described the issue as ‘a brilliant piece of work’.

Journalist Fatima Tlisova´s ´Nothing personal´ is a moving and shocking personal account of the difficulties and intimidation tactics she faced working in the North Caucasus; Glasnost Defence Foundation director Alexei Simonov assesses the culture of impunity in Russia; and Sergei Bachinin discusses the difficulties facing the independent regional press. Other articles in the issue looked at Vladimir Putin´s impact on the media, and consider its future as the country shifts gear.

The awards were held at the Royal Horticultural Halls in Central London.