A freelance photographer for The Associated Press (AP) won an award for his photo of a naked, mutilated woman who was murdered by Islamic terror group Hamas.
The AP and Ali Mahmud received first place in the “Team Picture Story of the Year” contest for his photo of the deceased Shani Louk, according to the contest’s website. Louk was shown half-naked in the hands of Hamas terrorists on the back of a truck before they drove away with her body during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks against Israel.
The family of Shani Louk asked the world to honor her memory by only sharing photos of her smiling.
Instead, the Associated Press have been profiting off an image of her mutilated body.
The AP photo of Hamas sitting on her mutilated body in the back of a pick up truck has… pic.twitter.com/TVHY10orv7
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) March 29, 2024
The category Mahmud won in the “Pictures of the Year” program “recognizes the collaborative effort of a photography staff covering a single topic or news story,” according to the contest’s website. Winning photos capture “a narrative picture story that consists of images taken as part of a team effort to cover a single issue or news story.” Shani Louk’s name is included in the caption on the website. (RELATED: ‘Hard Disagree’: Dem Senator Hits Back At Kamala Harris’ Remarks On Israel)
Residents in the Gaza Strip flee their homes to move away from the border with Israel after barrages of rockets were fired from the coastal enclave into Israel on October 7, 2023. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)
Members of Israeli security forces carry an injured person on a stretcher following a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023. Palestinian militant group Hamas has launched a “war” against Israel, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, after barrages of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on October 7. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)
Palestinians take control of an Israeli Merkava battle tank after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. One month after Israel was wracked by Hamas attacks, life has been upended for both the Palestinians and Israel after it launched a war of reprisal in the Gaza Strip. The October 7 attacks by Hamas militants who stormed across from Gaza and struck kibbutzim and southern Israeli areas killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and deeply scarred the nation. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says nearly 9,500 have been killed, two-thirds of them women and children, and mostly civilians. (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)
“Pictures of the Year” also posted the winning photo on Instagram, according to The Jerusalem Post. They reportedly received criticism online for doing so. The account appears to have deleted the post.
Photographers for the AP have already been rebuked for their alleged ties to Hamas, Ynet reported. The National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) reportedly sued the AP on behalf of survivors of the terror attack, saying the outlet “knew, or at the very least should have known” that some of its freelance photographers allegedly “participated in the October 7 massacre.”
Rockets are fired from Gaza City towards Israel on October 7, 2023. Dozens of rockets were fired from the blockaded Gaza Strip towards Israel on October 7, 2023, an AFP journalist in the Palestinian territory said, as sirens warning of incoming fire blared in Israel. (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)
A man records a video with his mobile phone of rockets being fired from Gaza City towards Israel on October 7, 2023. Dozens of rockets were fired from the blockaded Gaza Strip towards Israel on October 7, 2023, an AFP journalist in the Palestinian territory said, as sirens warning of incoming fire blared in Israel. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT – Rockets are fired from Gaza City towards Israel on October 7, 2023. Dozens of rockets were fired from the blockaded Gaza Strip towards Israel on October 7, 2023, an AFP journalist in the Palestinian territory said, as sirens warning of incoming fire blared in Israel. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)
The Israeli government confirmed Louk’s death on Oct. 30, three weeks following the kidnapping of the German-Israeli. Louk’s mother, Ricarda, also confirmed her daughter’s death to German media after previously expressing hope that she was still alive, the BBC reported.