Nataliya Gumenyuk received the 2024 Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Award

Photo: Samuel Corum

Tonight, PIJL CEO Nataliya Gumenyuk received the 2024 Press Freedom Award by Reporters Without Borders in the “Impact” category. Nataliya was also recognized for her work documenting crimes to preserve evidence for use in legal processes within The Reckoning Project.

On December 3, during the award ceremony in Washington, Nataliya emphasized that this recognition serves as a reminder of the persecution faced by Ukrainian journalists under occupation. According to the Institute of Mass Information, 30 Ukrainian journalists remain in Russian captivity.

Today, we are publishing the documentary Access to Information, created as part of The Reckoning Project. The film tells the story of our colleagues who were imprisoned: investigative journalist Oleh Baturyn from Kakhovka and reporter Angela Slobodyan from Kherson.

During her acceptance remarks, Gumenyuk highlighted the tragic death of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity on September 19. Victoria’s body has still not been returned to her family.

Find the full text of Nataliya's speech here:

I’m honored to accept this award. I receive it on behalf of my team –  the Public Interest Journalism Lab, which has worked tirelessly in Ukraine on documenting war crimes.  Also, through The Reckoning Project.

By talking to direct witnesses and survivors we can prove that what’s happening is not tragedy, but crime. This approach empowers us, as we believe those who commit crimes must be identified and  held accountable. 

I cherish this award is about impact. For me, journalism only makes sense when it serves people. When journalists ask themselves constantly, is what I am doing useful?   

This is especially clear during the war. Media can inform: what aid is needed, where you can hide, what road is safe and what road is not.  In our case, even if we can’t always bring justice, we can at the very least bring recognition to the victims and prevent the crime of denial. 

Yet for being able to do so, I must thank my fellow Ukrainians – first of all, those fighting on the frontline. Thanks to them, but also Ukrainians who work for the country, our state and society can function. Thanks to them, most Ukrainian media are not in exile. Most can stay in Ukraine among our people. 

Unfortunately, that's not the case for all Ukrainian media, just as it's not the case for all the country. More than 30 Ukrainian journalists, mainly those who stayed in their native towns, under  Russia's occupation, are currently detained. They are treated horrendously. 

Around two months ago, the father of my colleague, Victoria Roshchyna, with whom I worked at Hromadske, received a short note from the Russian Ministry of Defense. It said that on September 19th Victoria died in a Russian prison. She had been detained, after she went to report from the occupied territories over a year ago. Ukrainian authorities confirmed her death. But her family refuses to believe it until her body is returned. 

Usually, I am the most hopeful person in the room. Instead of highlighting how horrible the situation is, and how much we can lose, I tend to say how much we have to protect, and how much we still can do.

But I also recognize our limits, including those of journalistic organizations. Everywhere in the world, it’s difficult to free jailed journalists. By being imprisoned journalists are silenced. 

Victoria cannot speak any longer. But I'm afraid her body can tell her final story – about what had been done to her.  Until the body is not returned to her family – which is the slow-burn torture for them, I won’t stop thinking, and doubting: what impact has our journalistic solidarity if we can’t do at least this for her family? 

Yet I won’t finish with that. This speech is not meant to make us depressed. Speaking about the impact we don’t need to think about some great achievements. Nobody is expected to be a hero. We are judged not by results, but by our efforts, whether we did our best. 

Thus I wish all of us every day find that strength to do our best, even if it’s about something basic. Thank you. 

Each year, the RSF Press Freedom Awards honour the work of journalists and media outlets that have made significant contributions to the defence and promotion of press freedom worldwide. The 32nd ceremony took place this Tuesday, 3 December 2024, in Washington, DC, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The event was hosted by journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro, co-host of “The Interview” series from The New York Times Magazine and a contributor to CNN.

Other speakers at the ceremony included Michel Martin, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, host of NPR's Morning Edition and contributor to PBS's “Amanpour & Company”, as well as Aïssa Maïga, a renowned French actress and director, and daughter of the courageous Malian journalist Mohamed Maïga, who died 40 years ago.