The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) celebrated four journalists from Gaza, Guatemala, Niger, and Russia at the 34th annual International Press Freedom Awards (IPFA) in New York on Thursday, raising $2.4 million to protect journalists around the world.

This year’s awardees were: Palestinian journalist Shrouq Al Aila, and director of Ain Media in Gaza; Quimy de León, a Guatemalan journalist and co-founder of Prensa Comunitaria; Samira Sabou; a prominent investigative journalist in Nigeria, and Alsu Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist and editor jailed by Russia in 2023.

CPJ’s board of directors also posthumously honored Christophe Deloire, who served as director general of the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), with the 2024 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award.

In his tireless global campaign to save 77-year-old media publisher Jimmy Lai from life imprisonment in Hong Kong, Sebastien Lai has not seen his father for more than four years.

After multiple delays to his trial, the aging British citizen was due to take the stand for the first time on November 20 on charges of sedition and conspiring to collude with foreign forces, which he denies.

In an interview with CPJ’s Beh Lih Yi, Sebastien, who leads the #FreeJimmyLai campaign, spoke about prison’s toll on his father, why he should be released immediately, and how Britain and other nations are supporting that effort.

We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

Patricia Ramírez González

Hechos, Mexico

Mauricio Cruz Solís

Radiorama Michoacán,Minuto x Minuto, Mexico

Tareq AlSalhi

GazaLive, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory

AlHassan Hamad

Freelance,Al Jazeera,Media Town TV, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Muhammad Bachal Ghunio

Awaz TV, Pakistan

Mohammed Abed Rabbo

Al-Manara Agency, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory