Bel Trew, The Independent’s chief international correspondent, has won the prestigious Marie Colvin Award at the British Journalism Awards 2023 for her courageous reporting in warzones across the world.
Ms Trew was described by the judges as one of the world’s leading foreign correspondents, having spent more than a decade reporting from the most dangerous conflict zones, including Ukraine and currently Jerusalem.
The Marie Colvin Award was launched in memory of the late Sunday Times foreign correspondent who was killed reporting on the plight of people in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012.
Bel Trew, The Independent’s chief international correspondent, has won the prestigious Marie Colvin Award at the British Journalism Awards 2023 for her courageous reporting in warzones across the world.
Ms Trew was described by the judges as one of the world’s leading foreign correspondents, having spent more than a decade reporting from the most dangerous conflict zones, including Ukraine and currently Jerusalem.
The Marie Colvin Award was launched in memory of the late Sunday Times foreign correspondent who was killed reporting on the plight of people in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012.
She has spent most of 2022 and 2023 criss-crossing Ukraine for multiple investigations, gathering material for her standout March 2023 documentary The Body in the Woods.
The piece was The Independent’s first feature-length documentary and was researched, presented and documented by Ms Trew herself.
The 40-minute film grew from her discovery of the body of a young man and delves into Ukraine’s efforts to find and identify its dead.
Ms Trew’s work has not only produced quality journalism but also has had a real impact on the ground. During her investigations, she was able to locate missing civilians who had been spirited away and inform their families of their whereabouts.
The series also uncovered evidence of torture, forced labour and hostage-taking.
Ms Trew’s work has not only produced quality journalism but also has had a real impact on the ground. During her investigations, she was able to locate missing civilians who had been spirited away and inform their families of their whereabouts.
The series also uncovered evidence of torture, forced labour and hostage-taking.
Other standout pieces of Ms Trew’s work include her rare interview with Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska, which took place in the presidential bunker.
The interview prompted further pledges of support for Ukraine from the likes of then defence secretary Ben Wallace, who said Britain would back Ukraine “every way” until the war ends.
Ms Trew has also reported from other troubled locations including the Paris suburbs in July 2023 to delve into the plight of the disenfranchised banlieues population.