Palestinian journalist Mariam Abu Daqqa honored with 2025 press freedom hero award
The International Press Institute (IPI), headquartered in Vienna, Austria, has awarded Palestinian journalist Mariam Abu Daqqa the 2025 World Press Freedom Hero Award, recognizing her courage and sacrifice in reporting from Gaza under extreme danger.
The IPI, in partnership with International Media Support (IMS), announced the award as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, honoring seven journalists worldwide who demonstrated exceptional commitment to truth and press freedom.
Abu Daqqa, a field reporter and photojournalist, was killed on August 25, 2025, in an Israeli airstrike on the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, while covering the ongoing war. The IPI described her as a journalist who “put her life on the line over and over again to show the world the human suffering and destruction in Gaza.”
The award recognizes her as one of many Palestinian journalists who lost their lives while documenting the conflict, which has devastated Gaza’s civilian population and infrastructure.
According to the IPI, the 2025 laureates “represent the growing threats faced by journalists worldwide as authoritarianism spreads, impunity persists, and attacks on press freedom continue.”
The award ceremony will take place on October 24, 2025, at the University of Vienna during the IPI World Congress and Media Innovation Festival.
Abu Daqqa’s employer, Independent Arabia, paid tribute to her, describing her as “a dedicated journalist who believed that conveying the truth was a sacred duty, even at the cost of her life.”
The IPI’s decision to honor Abu Daqqa highlights the risks faced by journalists in conflict zones, particularly in Gaza, which remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for media professionals. Human rights and press freedom organizations have repeatedly called for accountability for attacks targeting journalists during the ongoing war.
With this recognition, Mariam Abu Daqqa joins the ranks of global journalists remembered for their courage, professionalism, and ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of truth. (ILKHA)
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