The Independent’s Bel Trew wins prestigious journalism award

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.

The British Journalism Award judges in London said: “Marie would have admired Bel’s self-starting courage. Bel is a journalist who has become one of the leading foreign correspondents in the world in recent years.”

Ms Trew began her career as a freelance covering the Arab spring, until she was detained and expelled by the Egyptian authorities for her reporting.

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.

This was followed by a written, photographic and video series called The Missing, which looked into the fate of thousands of missing civilians.

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 used her win to highlight the loss of 63 journalists covering the conflict in Palestine, writing on X (formerly Twitter): “Wow-this was a shock, I had no idea I was nominated.

“I’m in the field so wasn’t there, thank you I interviewed Marie in 2011 about being a female war reporter - she was so brilliant & brave & I know if we talked today she’d mention this: the Gaza war is the deadliest conflict for reporters on record (CPJ).

“Yesterday @pressfreedom said at least 63 journalists have been killed since 7 Oct - 56 are Palestinian: many have lost family, their homes & are operating in circumstances we cannot imagine.

“Now more than ever we need to support and protect our bravest colleagues.”

Ms Trew has also been on the front lines of the conflict in Ukraine this year. She has followed evacuation convoys rescuing civilians, combat medics and first responders in the deadliest frontline towns like Bakhmut and Soledar.

In November, she was among the first journalists to enter Kherson after the Russian withdrawal.

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.

In June 2023, she tracked local and global repercussions of the explosion at the Kakhovka Dam, which caused the largest ecological disaster in Europe’s recent history and resulted in the delivery of humanitarian aid.

You can read all of her latest work for The Independent here