Jury
2025
Judging was conducted by an international jury of news media professionals and experts on the subject of war and armed conflicts.
Jury
Chairman of the jury
Margarita Simonyan
RT Editor-in-Chief
In 2005, Margarita Simonyan launched RT, Russia's first round-the-clock, English-language, international TV news channel, which has since expanded to a global TV network providing news, current affairs and documentaries in nine languages, and includes sister multimedia news agency RUPTLY.
Under her helm, RT has extended its reach to more than 800 million TV viewers in over 100 countries around the globe, and is an 11-time Emmy finalist.
In 2013, Margarita Simonyan also became editor-in-chief of Rossiya Segodnya, an international media group that includes radio and news agency Sputnik, which broadcasts in more than 30 languages.
Margarita began her journalism career at a local TV and radio station in the Russian city of Krasnodar, eventually heading up a regional bureau for Russia's largest nationwide broadcaster, VGTRK. As a war correspondent, she reported from the Chechen Republic during the Second Chechen War, from the Beslan School Siege, and from Abkhazia, which earned her several journalism awards.
In 2017, Margarita Simonyan was included on the Forbes Magazine list of the world's most powerful women, more than a dozen spots higher than former U.S. secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Margarita has been awarded several national honours of the Russian Federation, including the Order of Alexander Nevsky, the Order 'For Merit to the Fatherland', the Order of Honour, and the Order of Friendship for 'contribution to the development of domestic television'.
Jury composition
Evgeny Poddubny
War Correspondent, VGTRK
Russia
Evgeny Poddubny is a war correspondent and producer of documentaries and special reports. He leads VGTRK's Middle East and North Africa Bureau. Throughout his career, he has covered numerous armed conflicts, reporting from Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Pakistan, among others. His work in Syria and Ukraine earned him three prestigious TEFI awards. He also co-ordinates the Russian Humanitarian Mission, a charity organization in Syria.
SARGON HADAYA
Military correspondent and columnist for RT Arabic
Covered political events and major armed conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh and Kazakhstan. Interviewed major political figures in Russia and the Middle East, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
He is the author of exclusive reports from the frontlines in the military operation zone in Ukraine. Sargon not only reports on the course of military operations, but also helps injured civilians by delivering aid.
He has been awarded the medal of the Order 'For Merit to the Fatherland', the medal of the Russian Defence Ministry 'For the Return of Crimea', the medal 'For Bravery', as well as the medal 'Participant of the military operation in Syria'. In addition, he was awarded a commendation by the president of the Russian Federation for services in the development of mass media.