MEE journalist Daniel Hilton wins Amnesty International Media Award for Libya report
Middle East Eye journalist Daniel Hilton has won an Amnesty International UK Media Award for his reporting on mass graves and other civil war atrocities in Libya.
Hilton was the first English-language journalist to visit the town of Tarhuna, where multiple murders of civilians during the conflict are now being uncovered by authorities.
For five years the rural town, 60km southeast of Tripoli, was ruled by the Kanis, a family of violent brothers, and their eponymous Kaniyat militia, which is part of the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) led by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.
The area has largely been ignored by western news organisations, especially during the past year, making Hilton's reporting even more important.
Accepting the Written News award via video at the online ceremony on Wednesday evening, Hilton stressed that the situation in Libya should not be forgotten.
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"I hope that more reporting is done from Tarhuna, because honestly I only scratched the surface," he said.
During his assignment, Hilton also interviewed survivors of torture; wrote about the role of Russian mercenaries in massacres; and documented the issue of booby-trapped homes in Tripoli, which authorities say have killed and maimed residents returning to the city.
Middle East Eye editor David Hearst said: "The civil war in Libya had gone largely unreported by the international media, ever since Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow in 2011.
"Daniel not only got into an active war zone but uncovered a major war crime in the mass graves of Tarhuna, a war crime which has since become the subject of an International Criminal Court investigation.
"Daniel's award is Middle East Eye's third this year and he thoroughly deserves it."
The other finalists in the category were The Independent (How Israel is ‘bombing Gaza blind’ with old intelligence); The Guardian (Refugees report abuse by Croatian police); and The Telegraph (After the bombs they attacked with knives, claim Ethiopians fleeing peace prize winner’s war)
Third win for MEE journalism in 12 months
The award is the latest recognition for Middle East Eye.
In November, Middle East Eye freelance correspondent Maha Hussaini won the Martin Adler Prize, awarded by the prestigious Rory Peck Trust, for her reporting for Middle East Eye from Gaza.
And in June 2020, Shatha Hammad, a freelance journalist working from the occupied West Bank with Middle East Eye, won the prestigious One World Media New Voice Award.
Hilton, who joined Middle East Eye in 2018, is the site's head of news. Previously he was based in Beirut, where he was regional editor for The Daily Star newspaper.
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