Ján Kuciak was an investigative journalist for the Slovakian news website Aktuality.sk. His investigations included looking at allegations of tax fraud associated with individuals close to the then-ruling Smur Party, and links with Italian organised crime networks. On the 25th of February 2018, he was found shot dead in his home alongside his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. After his death, prosecutors stated they believed Kuciak was killed to stop his investigation.

One of the reasons Kuciak was chosen to receive the Courage in Journalism Award was because of the impact his death has had on Slovakia. In the weeks and month following his death, Slovakia saw mass protests which contributed to the resignation of then-Prime Minister Robert Fico. A new anti-corruption movement has swept the country which contributed to the recent election of Slovakia’s first female president, Zuzana Caputova, who stood on an anti-corruption, pro-press freedom platform.

The Courage in Journalism Award was created to highlight the dangers faced by journalists around the world. The Award is presented posthumously to a journalist whose death in the past year as a direct result of their work. The Legatum Institute founded this award in 2017 following the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the widely-respected Maltese journalist who was killed by a car bomb. Following Daphne’s death, and in discussion with the Caruana Galizia family, we decided to create this award to honour her legacy and to shine a light on the very real dangers facing journalists working in many countries around the world.

Tonight at the @LegatumInst we will announce the recipient of our Courage in Journalism Award. This has been one of the toughest but also most important things we’ve done.

Here’s a short introduction to this year’s award. #CourageInJournalism https://t.co/9MnfWeazIY pic.twitter.com/R9ObmQIre0

— Nathan Gamester (@NathanGamester) April 29, 2019

Commenting on the Award, Nathan Gamester of the Legatum Institute said:

“Across the world today, media freedoms are under threat. In around two-thirds of the 149 countries included in the Legatum Prosperity Index™, media freedom is in decline. This should be a cause for concern for all of us – journalists play a vital role in reporting the news and holding governments to account. In too many parts of the world, this duty comes at a price.

“We decided to make this a posthumous award, to recognise a journalist whose life – and death – had made a significant impact. Sadly, the need for courageous journalism seems greater today than ever before. We owe a huge debt to the men and women who paid the ultimate price to ensure their readers, viewers and listeners received fair and truthful accounts of the facts.”

The Judges