RT ANNOUNCES ITS INTERNATIONAL JURY FOR THE KHALED ALKHATEB MEMORIAL AWARDS

МОSCOW, JULY19, 2018— To judge journalistic works submitted to the Khaled Alkhateb Memorial Awards, an international competition established in honor of RT Arabic, war correspondent Khaled Alkhateb, who died while reporting from Syria, RT has gathered an impressive group of media professionals and experts on war and armed conflicts. Among them is Tom Wragg of the Association for International Broadcasters and CBS veteran Philip Ittner.

RT has assembled a diverse group of experts to evaluate the most outstanding works submitted by journalists reporting from conflict zones. Among them is industry veteran Tom Wragg, who currently serves as the Business Development Director of the Association for International Broadcasters. Tom began his career at the BBC, eventually becoming head of production for BBC News and Current Affairs. Tom is joined by Philip Ittner, whose career at CBS spans 15 years. Throughout his career, Philip has reported from the frontlines of some of the world’s most critical conflicts, including the US military invasion of Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, and the Syrian refugee crisis.

RT has welcomed two of Russia’s most well-known journalists as the final two jurors. War correspondent Evgeny Poddubny is a two-time winner of the prestigious TEFI award for his work in Syria and Ukraine, while journalist and television host Irada Zeynalova has reported on some of the country’s most pressing stories of the last 20 years, including the Beslan school siege, the Moscow underground bombings in 2004 and 2010, and the Moscow blackouts of 2005.

Also participating in the judging are Vijay Prashad, a prolific author and historian who has spent 30 years reporting from around the world for Indian and Turkish media; Eva Golinger, a lawyer, journalist and writer specializing in the field of international law and foreign policy between Latin America and the US; and RT Middle East Bureau Chief Paula Slier.

The Khaled Alkhateb Memorial Awards will award journalists in three categories: Best Video Journalism from a Conflict Zone: Long Form, Best Video Journalism from a Conflict Zone: Short Form, and Best Written Journalism from a Conflict Zone. The awards ceremony will take place on July 30 – one year since the death of 25-year-old RT Arabic stringer Khaled Alkhateb.

Khaled Alkhateb was killed by an ISIS shell in the eastern suburb of Homs, Syria in 2017. At the time of his death, Khaled was covering the fighting between Syrian government forces and terrorists. In April 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree awarding Khaled Alkhateb the Medal for Courage.