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A panel of judges has selected the winners of the 2025 European Press Prize, honoring the best in European journalism during yet another challenging year for independent media.
Among the six winning projects, the Special Award was presented to The Baku Connection Project, a cross-border investigation coordinated by Forbidden Stories in collaboration with OCCRP and 15 other media partners.
The project continued the work of Azerbaijani outlet Abzas Media after several of its journalists—Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinc Vaqifqizi, and Mahammad Kelakov—were arrested in late 2023.
Despite their detention, journalists across Europe and beyond came together to carry on the investigation into corruption, human rights violations, and environmental damage linked to the regime of Ilham Aliyev.
“This award recognizes pure collaboration and solidarity in the profession,” the judges noted.
The recognition comes at a time of growing pressure on independent journalism in Azerbaijan. The latest example is journalist Ulvia Ali (Guliyeva), who was violently detained in early May in Baku as part of the so-called Meydan TV case. Police raided her home, and a district court subsequently ordered one month and 29 days of pre-trial detention.
The Investigative Reporting Award went to a piece called Serving Moscow by Ziarul de Garda, an undercover investigation into Russian influence in Moldova’s elections.
Under Surveillance, a German data journalism project that exposes how the sale of location data poses a national security threat won the Innovation Award.
Jessica Bateman received the Distinguished Reporting Award for her investigation into black market adoptions in Greece.
The Public Discourse Award went to Katarzyna Boni for her Mothers at the End of the World story that explores climate change and motherhood.
Gabriela Galvin won the Migration Journalism Award for reporting on Denmark’s restrictive daycare policies affecting immigrant families.
The prize ceremony took place on May 28 in Bari, Italy. Each main award includes a €10,000 prize to support future journalistic work.
