EU Investigative Journalism Awards 2023: Meet the Winners

We are excited to share the awarded stories:

ALBANIA

• 1^stprize, Aurora Velaj, Euronews Albania, “Po na shujn!” (“They are whipping us out!”)
• 2^ndprize, Osman Stafa, Investigative Network of Albania, “Mungesa e ilaçeve në QSUNT rrezikon jetën e fëmijëve, që vuajnë nga tumori” (“The lack of medicines in QSUNT endangers the lives of children suffering from tumors”)
• 3^rdprize (Tied) Anila Hoxha, Reporter.al, “Sekret shtetëror: Historia pa lavdi e degradimit të flotës ajrore shqiptare” (“State secret: The inglorious history of the degradation of the Albanian air fleet”)
• and Artan Rama, Investigative Network of Albania,  “Kush e kontrollon Butrinti” (“Who manages Butrint?”)

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

• 1^stprize, Semira Degirmendžić,ba, “Turski Cengiz dobio poslove od milijardu maraka, a bh. radnicima neće da isplati odštete” (“Turkish Cengiz got deals worth a billion marks, but will not pay compensation to the workers”)
• 2^ndprize (Tied), Predrag Blagovčanin, Tacno.net, “Između HDZ-a i DF-a: Kako je Ministarstvo odbrane BiH zaštitilo ratnog zločinca” (“Between HDZ and DF: How the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina protected a war criminal”)
• and Džana Brkanić and Lamija Grebo, BIRN: “Uslovne kazne ne sprečavaju širenje mržnje” (“Suspended sentences do not prevent the spread of hatred”)
• 3^rdprize, Arduana Pribinja, Al Jazeera Balkans, “Zloupotreba pacijenata u Sarajevu: Lažne dijagnoze za skupocjene lijekove” (“Abuse of patients in Sarajevo: False diagnoses for expensive drugs”)

KOSOVO

• 1st prize, Kreshnik Gashi, Kallxo.com, “Blerja e Kryeprokurorit I dhe II” (“The Purchase of the Chief Prosecutor I and II”)
• 2^ndprize, Dafina Halili, Kosovo 2.0, “Shkolla fantazmë, shkolla geto e ndërrime të segreguara” (“Ghost Schools, Ghetto Schools and Segregated Shifts”)
• 3^rdprize, Saranda Ramaj, Koha, “Abuzimet me Fondin per Trajtim Jashte Institucioneve Publike” (“Abuses of the Outpatient Treatment Fund”)

NORTH MACEDONIA

• 1^stprize, Sashka Cvetkovska, Elena Mitrevska Cuckovska, Maja Jovanovska, and Trifun Sitnikovski, IRL Macedonia, “Нечиста крв” (“Bad Blood”)
• 2^ndprize, Frosina Dimeska, Prizma, “Избеган украински политичар под санкции на САД, добил македонско државјанство”  (“Ukrainian politician who escaped under US sanctions, received Macedonian citizenship”)
• 3^rdprize, Miomir Serafinovic, Snezana Lupevska, TV Telma,  KOD, “КОД: Државата не наплати пари од пресудено кривично дело-(Не)успешната конфискација на Трансмет”  (“CODE: The state did not collect money from a convicted crime-(Un)successful confiscation of Transmet”)

MONTENEGRO

• 1st prize, Đurđa Radulović, CIN-CG, Vijesti, “Nasilje o kom se ćuti – porodilišta krše preporuke SZO” (“Silence Surrounding Violence – Maternity Wards Violate WHO Recommendations”)
• 2^ndprize, Olivera Lakić, Libertas Press, for her series of articles shedding light on high-level corruption within the Montenegrin judicial system and uncovering crime and corruption within Montenegrin police structures.
• 3^rdprize (Tied), Dejan Milovac, NVO MANS and ND Vijesti,  “Pandora Papiri: Ruski offshore milioni za luksuzne nekretnine u Crnoj Gori” (“Pandora Papers: Russian offshore millions for luxury real estate in Montenegro”)
• and Vladimir Otasević, Jovo Martinović, Marko Vešović and Andras Kiraly(RTV Nikšić, Istraživački portal LUPA), “Tajna E-gambling afera” (“Secret E-gambling Affair”)

SERBIA

• 1^stprize, Stevan Dojčinović, Bojana Jovanović, Milica Vojinović, Ana Adžić, KRIK, “Serijal priča o klanu Darka Šarića” (Series of stories about Darko Šarić’s clan)
• 2^ndprize (Tied), Stefan Marković, Teodora Ćurčić, Jovana Tomić, Ivana Milosavljević, Vladimir Kostić, CINS, “Finansiranje političkih partija” (“Financing of political parties”)
• and Jelena Zorić, BIRN, “Klinička istraživanja i lažne dijagnoze” (“Clinical research and false diagnosis”)
• 3^rdprize (Tied), Vuk Cvijić, NIIN, for his investigations about the connections between criminal circles and high state officials,
• and Dina Đorđević, Marija Ristić, Jovana Tomić and Saša Dragojlo, CINS, BIRN, for “Series of Stories: Paths of Serbian Weapons” (“Serijal priča: Putevi srpskog oružja”)

TÜRKIYE

• 1^stprize, Murat Ağırel, Yeniçağ Gazetesi, “Uyuşturucu Kıskacında Türkiye” (“Türkiye in the grip of drugs”)
• 2^ndprize, Doğu Eroğlu, Medyascope, “Belgelerle BTK-gate” (“BTK-gate with Documents”)
• 3^rdprize, Çiğdem Toker, Sözcü Gazetesi, “Atatürk Havalimanı’na Millet Bahçesi Operasyonu” (“National Garden Operation at Atatürk Airport”)

This year, aside from national awards, the EU Award introduced a regional award, targeting the best stories from the entire region, but also supporting collaborations between journalists in the Western Balkans region and Türkiye.

Regional winners are:

• 1^stprize, Sashka Cvetkovska, Elena Mitrevska Cuckovska, Maja Jovanovska, Trifun Sitnikovski, IRL Macedonia, “Нечиста крв” (“Bad Blood”)
• 2^ndprize, Dragan Stanimirović, Al Jazeera Balkans, “Bitka za Neretvu” (“Battle for Neretva”)
• 3^rdprize, Saša Dragojlo, BIRN, “Krijumčar-prevodilac i “major Deki”: Tvrdnje o kriminalu uz policijsku pomoć” (“With Police Connections, Serbian-Syrian Translator Turned People-Smuggler”)

Congratulations to all the winners!

The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2023 is managed by the project`s partners -Thomson Media (TM) – Germany, The Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) – North Macedonia, and Association of Journalists (AJ) – Türkiye.