Awards prestigious award to photographer Burhan Ozbilici for portraying murder of Russian ambassador to Turkey
Mevlut Mert Altintas killed Andre Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, in front of several spectators and Burhan Ozbilici, an AP photographer, did not hesitate to document it
On December 19, 2016 a subject, who was later identified as Mevlut Mert Altintas, murdered in cold blood Andre Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey. It happened in the middle of an Ankara gallery and in front of several witnesses. Andre was giving a speech when he was shot by Mevlut, who then shouted "Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria! "
Although he was in a very dangerous situation, photographer Burhan Ozbilici did not hesitate to document the scene. The AP, the agency for which it works, had not even been assigned coverage of the event, but as a good news photographer Burhan was prepared for the unexpected: "The event was routine. It was the opening of an exhibition of Russian photographs, Until a man in a tie and dark suit pulled out a gun. I was stunned, I thought it was a play, "said the photographer a few weeks ago.
Today Burhan was awarded a prize by World Press Photo, who acknowledged his impressive work: "It was a very, very difficult decision, but we finally felt that the photo of the year was an explosive image that really indicates the hatred of our time," Said Mary Calvert, who is on the jury.
Recalling the terrible moment, Burhan told how he kept in check: "I was scared and confused, but I was partially covered by a wall and did my job: taking pictures." It should be remembered that the murderer died a few minutes later after exchanging fire with several policemen. "To find myself in a similar situation, I do not know what I would do. I can not predict it, but I would like this to happen to no one and nowhere," Burhan said.
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