The research of News hour to the passport trade from Malta today won a Loep, the annual prize for investigative journalism. The NOS won a Loep for the story about the at least 70 civilian deaths that fell in an attack on an IS car bomb factory in Iraq by a Dutch F-16.
The bombing destroyed an entire neighborhood in Hawija. It was one of the bloodiest attacks by the international coalition in the fight against IS. Research editors Ben Meindertsma and Lex Runderkamp made the story together with journalists from NRC. The prize was awarded in the category of investigative investigative journalism.
Passport trade from Malta
The investigation into the passport trade from Malta was conducted by reporter Siebe Sietsma and editor Luuk Mulder came first in the category of signaling investigative journalism. The prize was awarded in Amsterdam on Friday evening.
The production also previously won a Tegel, the most important Dutch journalistic prize. News houreditor-in-chief Joost Oranje is ‘happy and proud’ of the award: “It is a classic investigative journalism project, in which Nieuwsuur wants to excel. It is very nice to see that it is appreciated”, says Oranje.
Watch the story of the Maltese passport trade here: In 2014, the government in Malta created a gold mine out of thin air that generates hundreds of millions of euros per year for the tiny island: the sale of Maltese passports. And what is the role of the Groningen professor Dimitry Kochenov?
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