Abdalle Ahmed Mumin
Abdalle Ahmed Mumin A prominent Somali journalist and human rights activist, Mumin cofounded the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), an organization instrumental in advocating for press freedom, providing support to journalists facing threats, and challenging oppressive governmental directives aimed at censoring the media. Mumin’s dedication to journalism and human rights has subjected him to displacement, torture, and persecution, yet he remains committed to advocating for human rights and press freedom in Somalia through the relentless pursuit of truth.
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) stands as a unique, independent global network, encompassing a team of 280 investigative journalists and partnering with more than 140 media outlets across over 100 nations. Its central operations are based out of Washington, D.C., but it boasts a diverse international presence with staff stationed in several countries including Australia, France, Spain, Hungary, Serbia, Belgium, and Ireland. Initiated in 1997 by the American journalist Charles Lewis as a project under the Center for Public Integrity, the ICIJ’s mission has been to uncover and report on worldwide instances of corruption and criminal activities. Gaining independence in 2017, the organization now operates as a non-profit, recognized under the 501(c)(3) status. Among its most notable achievements is the Panama Papers investigation, a joint endeavor with Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung and a coalition of over 100 media partners. This extensive project involved the meticulous examination of 11.5 million documents leaked from the law firm Mossack Fonseca, headquartered in Panama. Revealed in April 2016, these documents disclosed extensive details about offshore accounts, involving over 14,000 clients and 214,000 entities, linked to various global leaders and influential personalities. The investigative work of the ICIJ has had a profound global impact, notably influencing the enactment of significant legislation such as the Corporate Transparency Act in the U.S. This was further propelled by the Pandora Papers investigation, which revealed the inadequacies in the American financial disclosure systems. As a result of the Panama Papers project, governments worldwide have reclaimed over US$1.36 billion in taxes, with ongoing efforts to recover more lost revenues.
Pavla Holcová
Pavla Holcová, an acclaimed Czech investigative journalist, has made significant strides in revealing governmental corruption and crime. Her investigation into a colleague’s murder led to the exposure of the perpetrators, contributing to the downfall of Slovakia’s former government. For her impactful journalism, she received the 2021 Knight International Journalism Award. Holcová leads the Czech Center for Investigative Journalism, focusing on cross-border corruption and crime, and played a pivotal role in the investigation following Ján Kuciak’s murder, which led to major political upheavals in Slovakia. Her career is marked by other notable investigations, including exposing the covert dealings of Macedonia’s former secret service chief, leading to his resignation and the government’s fall, earning her and her team the European Union’s Investigative Journalism Award. Holcová has also contributed to major international projects like the Panama Papers and delved into global issues like illegal arms sales and the cocaine trade. Her diverse experiences include undercover assignments and implementing media and human rights projects across Europe.
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) is an independent global network of 280 journalists across more than 100 countries. In addition to running their own independent newsroom, ICIJ has directed the largest cross-border collaborations in history, convincing reporters across the globe to set aside traditional rivalries to uncover corruption, abuses of power and grave harms inflicted on the world’s most vulnerable people. ICIJ has introduced innovative developments to journalistic infrastructure that have allowed hundreds of journalists to jointly gather, share, and investigate millions of documents to expose broken systems and widespread wrongdoing. These innovations have facilitated many ground-breaking reports including the Panama Papers, the Pandora Papers, and the Luxembourg Leaks, among others. Their unique contributions have resulted in criminal investigations in numerous countries and invited greater scrutiny into the gaps and loopholes that allow systemic corruption to continue.
Pavla Holcová & Ismael Bojórquez Perea
Pavla Holcová work as a human rights defender and later as a journalist led her to uncover high-level corruption and criminality across the globe. In 2013, Holcová founded the Czech Centre for Investigative Journalism, an independent news outlet that contributes to other journalism initiatives, including the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). Together with her colleagues, Holcová has contributed to many ground-breaking investigations, including the Azerbaijani Laundromat and the Paradise Papers. Her work uncovering these criminal networks made her and her colleagues targets for smear campaigns, harassment, and violence. In 2018, Holcová’s colleague, Ján Kuciak, was murdered along with his fiancé while investigating a new story on corrupt dealings between the Slovak government and organized crime entities. Instead of silencing her, Jan’s death renewed Pavla’s resolve, and she carried on with his investigation, determined to publish the story and demand justice for Jan. The investigation contributed to the fall of the Slovak government and led to several criminal investigations and charges.
International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG)
The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) was created in 2007 in a joint agreement between the United Nations and the Guatemalan government. The Commission was designed to strengthen and support Guatemala’s judicial institutions and to investigate and prosecute corrupt actors and criminal groups that had infiltrated state institutions following Guatemala’s decades-long civil war. CICIG led over 120 cases and exposed more than 70 criminal networks, revealing the true extent of corruption and criminal activity in the country. The Commission’s efforts led to the removal of more than a dozen corrupt judges and the expulsion of more than 1,700 officers from the National Civilian Police. CICIG also sought to create more just and transparent judicial institutions by promoting major legal reforms to improve Guatemala’s investigative and prosecutorial capacity and responsiveness. CICIG’s efforts reduced impunity rates for violent crimes and restored Guatemalan peoples’ trust in the justice system. A 2017 poll showed that 70% of Guatemalan people had confidence in CICIG, and the Attorney General’s Office had one of the highest levels of public trust for a local institution. CICIG ceased operations in 2019, after 12 years in the country. Then-President Jimmy Morales, who had been investigated for corruption, declared CICIG a threat to national security and unilaterally terminated the agreement.
Daphne Caruana Galizia & Howard Wilkinson
Daphne Caruana Galizia Daphne Caruana Galizia worked as an investigative journalist, blogger, and anti-corruption activist for over 30 years. Daphne focused much of her investigative work on uncovering crime and corruption in Malta’s ruling class. She began her journalism career as a columnist in Maltese newspapers and worked for The Sunday Times of Malta and The Malta Independent, among other publications. In 2008, she started a blog, Running Commentary. The blog gained a large following and quickly became one of the most popular websites in Malta, regularly attracting more readers than the entire country’s newspapers combined. The nature of her reporting made her a target for abuse, slander, and intimidation by those she was exposing. She received near-daily threats and attacks intended to silence her; despite the barrage of violence and intimidation, Daphne continued her work. In 2016 following the release of the Panama Papers documents, Caruana Galizia uncovered that two high-ranking government officials were the beneficiaries of secret offshore accounts. She discovered that the officials were also due to receive payments from 17 Black Limited, another Panama shell company owned by businessman, Yorgen Fenech. On October 16, 2017, Daphne was killed after a bomb placed in her car detonated. Her death sparked protests around the country; demonstrators took to the streets to protest rampant corruption in Malta and to demand justice for Daphne’s death. The demonstrations triggered a political crisis resulting in the resignation of several government officials, including the Prime Minister. Four individuals – including Yorgen Fenech – have been charged in connection with her murder, but none have yet been convicted. Daphne’s family started the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation to continue her work and to support investigative journalists. “Receiving the Allard Prize for International Integrity on behalf of our mother, Daphne Caruana Galizia is both humbling and encouraging,” said Daphne’s family. “It not only recognises her work in exposing corruption and defending the public’s right to know, it also recognises that Daphne should be celebrated for everyone’s sake, because her example of courage, integrity and humour in the face of adversity are so badly needed today and will be for many years to come.” “The financial part of the award will be dedicated to the objectives of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation: ensuring full justice for Daphne and the guardianship of her work; protecting investigative journalists and ending impunity for the murder of journalists; supporting independent, non-partisan media; and supporting public interest litigation and access to justice. We hope that the honour itself will inspire those who have taken up Daphne’s work to never give up and that it will encourage others to take up the fight against corruption and abuse of power.”
Azza Soliman
Over the past 25 years, Azza Soliman has dedicated her life to battling corruption and injustice faced by Egyptian women. The prominent women’s rights lawyer has fought for the inclusion of women in political, economic, and social activities, focusing on both the private sphere and the judicial system. As co-founder and current trustee of the Centre for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA), she has operated numerous campaigns to promote gender equality through legislative reform and raising awareness of women’s issues in Egypt. Azza has advocated for women since her politically active days in university, where she studied how fatwas contributed to perpetuating violence against women in Egyptian culture. Since then, she has worked extensively to implement training and legal-awareness programs on gender equality and conduct studies on subjects such as violence against women, honour crimes, marital rape, women’s right to divorce, and Egypt’s personal status laws. Because of her work, Azza has faced judicial harassment from an Egyptian government resistant to the missions of NGOs such as CEWLA. In 2015, Azza was unjustly charged with unauthorized protest and public order violations after testifying against a policeman whom she witnessed killing a female human rights defender during a protest. Continuing the Egyptian government’s crackdown on civil society, Azza’s private assets were frozen and she was arrested and interrogated about human rights NGO funding in December 2016. She was released on bail, but still faces ongoing government scrutiny as the public face of women’s rights in Egypt. As a PILnet (the Global Network for Public Interest Law) International Fellow, Azza is developing a project to expand access to legal services for marginalized communities in Egypt. She has also created the Religious Reform & Renewal Forum (RRRF) for social scientists, lawyers, politicians, and religious leaders to discuss relevant issues and causes related to women in Islam. To date, Azza has influenced a number of laws in Egypt, including providing rights for children born out of wedlock and including the mother’s name on all birth certificates. She was also the first to propose a civil law governing divorce, inheritance, and custody — among other rights for both Muslims and Christians — and the Nationality Law for Egyptian women married to non-Egyptians. A tireless advocate for women’s access to justice, Azza continues to serve some of the most economically and politically marginalized women involved in the Egyptian judicial system. What are your thoughts on being selected as a finalist for the Allard Prize? “Being nominated as a finalist for the Allard Prize makes me have a lot of gratitude as well as feel appreciated and motivated. I have been living under oppression in Egypt, which has specially intensified in the past three years. I feel that my nomination is a conformation that my work is acknowledged and needed. Moreover, it reminds me that there is spark of hope in this darkness. It also shows that more people are aware of the oppression that women human rights defenders (WHRDs) are facing in this part of the world. During the last three years, I received messages from many people telling me that I, Azza, am not alone in this fight. Having wide support makes me feel safer in this ugly, scary and tiring fight against an authoritarian regime, which sometimes changes its ways under international pressure. When I was arrested by the police last year, it was national and international pressure that helped me regain my freedom despite the fact that I was released on bail and that I am still among a list of of human rights defenders who risk receiving a life sentence in prison at any moment.” What inspires you to do the work that you do? “What is most inspiring in my work is when I’m able to help marginalised women regain their rights. To see their happiness when we succeed in empowering them and the impact of these victories, even the small ones, on their lives. I’m talking about basic rights: safety, freedom and equality. I see my work growing; the women I helped yesterday are helping other women today. We are speaking of survivors of different kinds of violence — whether domestic, political, social, cultural, religious or economic — [who help] other women survive. They give me hope, hope of a future which is more fair and just. I have a dream; to build an Egypt where there is rule of law. I dream of changing our culture and religious discourse to stop the oppression of women. Together with other resilient and brave women, we shall achieve this dream despite the hardships we are facing today.”
Car Wash Task Force (Força Tarefa da Lava Jato)
Beginning as a local money-laundering investigation in 2014, Operation Car Wash grew into the largest anti-corruption campaign in the history of Brazil and, perhaps, the world. The Car Wash Task Force has been responsible for billions of dollars in recovered bribes, and criminal charges against hundreds of political and corporate operatives, changing the nature of Brazilian politics and its culture of criminal impunity. The operation centered on a scandal surrounding Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil company. Prosecutors discovered that large construction and engineering firms paid more than $2 billion in bribes in exchange for lucrative contracts of Petrobras. The money was used to support a number of political campaigns that kept prominent officeholders in power and for their illicit enrichment. Over time, prosecutors and federal police uncovered a network of corruption that ran through the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, the Progressive Party and the governing Workers’ Party, as well as a host of major corporations whose top-level officers were involved in the kickback scheme. More recently, investigations spread over many offices of the federal, state and municipal governments, involving hundreds of politicians of more than 25 political parties. Ultimately, federal police arrested a sitting Senator, six former Congressmen, a party Treasurer, and some of Brazil’s most powerful executives, bringing charges against 280 people and dispensing more than 1500 years worth of criminal sentences. Criminals and companies have agreed to give back more than $3 billion, in a country where no cent is recovered in criminal cases in general. In 2015, Marcelo Odebrecht, the CEO of Latin America’s largest construction company, Odebrecht S.A., was sentenced to 19 years in prison for his role in the scandal, and ultimately the company, in a joint resolution with another company, Braskem S.A., involved in the scheme, agreed to pay back more than $2 billion in a resolution led by the Task Force with help from authorities in Switzerland and the United States. This was the largest corruption penalty ever levied by global authorities. The Car Wash Task Force was awarded the Transparency International Anti-Corruption Prize in 2016. Having exposed the shady underbelly of Brazilian politics, success gave the team the firepower to push for legislation that would help public officials and law enforcement prevent, root out, and prosecute corruption in its public offices. By bringing to justice dozens of high-ranking officials and executives who many thought were untouchable, the Car Wash Task Force has brought about a new era of integrity and accountability in Brazil. What are your thoughts on being selected as a finalist for the Allard Prize? “I [Deltan M. Dallagnol] feel very much honored for being part of a huge team working on the Car Wash case. Because the struggle against corruption in Brazil goes much beyond the Task Force, I would like for each public servant and citizen who contributed to this case and to the cause to feel that this nomination is also recognizing her contribution. More than that, I want them to feel that they have the support of millions of citizens of the world, represented by the Allard Prize community, who are in solidarity with regards to the pain and suffering that corruption causes people everywhere. Finally, I also feel grateful to the Allard Prize, since the selection of the Task Force amongst the finalists renews our strength in this long-term battle.” What inspires you to do the work that you do? “Much more than punishing the persons who committed corruption, which is of course a matter of Justice, what inspires me is a humanitarian motivation. Behind the faces of corrupt public employees, politicians and businessmen, there are millions of Brazilian citizens, people of flesh and blood, who suffer the consequences of corruption. It is all about loving our people. I am talking about people who are dying in the lines of Health Care Institutions, waiting to be taken care of. Persons are injured everyday in accidents caused by road potholes. Young people do not have opportunities because the educational system was stolen. In Brazil, more than 35 million people do not have access to tap water and more than 100 million do not have access to the sewage system. All this drives me to do my best in my job and as a citizen to make a difference.”
Khadija Ismayilova
As an investigative journalist in Azerbaijan, Khadija Ismayilova is well-known for challenging corruption and misuse of power at the highest levels of government. Working with Radio Free Europe and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Khadija has won numerous press-freedom awards and international acclaim for her investigative reporting in a country known for exercising strict control over its media. In 2010, Khadija and a colleague uncovered evidence of illegal privatization of the state owned bank by the president’s daughter. In 2011, she exposed Panamanian companies, owned by the president’s daughters, who used them to hide their privileged interests in the country’s communications sector. Her subsequent investigations detailed the family’s control over $2.5 billion worth of gold and silver at Azerbaijan’s Chovdar mine, and numerous other hidden holdings by the president’s daughters ranging from banking to transportation. In 2012, Khadija worked with two Czech journalists to uncover foreign companies and luxury real estate held by a number of high-ranking Azerbaijan officials and their families, an investigation that provided a rare public glimpse into the rampant corruption in Azerbaijani politics, even prompting the National Assembly of Azerbaijan to change its disclosure laws to hide from further inquiry. Khadija’s stories earned her investigative reporting awards in 2010 and 2011 from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, where she had served as the chief of Baku Bureau from 2008 to 2010. But her tireless search for truth made her some powerful enemies. In 2012, she was blackmailed by someone who had placed a video camera in her home and threatened to publically humiliate her if she didn’t “behave.” She refused to be silenced, so the video footage of her intimate life was published. When the government’s investigation of the blackmail was deemed inconclusive, Khadija commenced her own investigation and established that state agencies had wired her apartment. In 2013, she was arrested for an unsanctioned protest and sentenced to 220 hours of sweeping the streets (something she said pleased her, because she was used to “clearing this country of rubbish”). In 2015, Khadija was given a 7.5-year prison sentence for a list of financial crimes the government had fabricated to silence her, inspiring her colleagues at the OCCRP to start the “Khadija Project” to finish her investigative reporting projects. Following outcry from the international community — including Reporters Without Borders, the U.S. Department of State, and Amnesty International — Khadija was released on probation in 2016 and remains under a travel ban until 2021. She continues to fight against human rights abuses and corrupt practices in government, and her courage and leadership have earned her broad popular support, inspiring a new age of political activism in Azerbaijan. In 2017, Khadija was involved in the Azeribaijani Laundromat investigation, which exposed a slush fund of over 2.5 billion euros used by members of Azeribaijan’s government to pay off European politicians, buy luxury goods, launder money, and otherwise benefit themselves. What are your thoughts on being selected as a finalist for the Allard Prize? “Being selected as a finalist for this prize was a surprise to me. For me it is an acknowledgement of the struggle journalists and activists in Azerbaijan carry out day by day to expose corruption. Azerbaijan is a country where corruption is endemic, and corrupt officials enjoy impunity. Our stories do not lead to criminal investigations against corrupt officials, because as my investigations exposed, those who are on the top of the system are also leading the main corruption schemes. My hope is that one day we will have [a] strong enough society to demand justice in all corruption cases, including for those in the highest positions of the hierarchy. Writing and exposing corruption is not enough. We need to engage local and international legal mechanisms to make our exposures more meaningful. [The] Allard Prize might help me to start one of these initiatives.” What inspires you to do the work that you do? “Those who expose it are subject to all kinds of harassment. I didn’t pay the highest price – Elmar Huseynov, [a] journalist, assassinated in 2005 did. My share of “punishment” was a blackmail-and-arrest smear campaign by the government officials. Nevertheless I do not regret, because I am happy to see that despite all the troubles our work can bring, there are [a] number of younger journalists who want to do the same. Some of them do it anonymously because of the threats of being arrested, beaten or blackmailed. They are my inspiration. I dedicate this acknowledgement to my students and colleagues – to journalists, who investigate and expose corruption openly or anonymously despite threats.”