Luis Ramirez, 2009 winner | 2006 winner
Mr. Ramirez created a series of video and web reports on the precarious journey of North Korean defectors while serving as the VOA Bangkok Bureau Chief.
He showed extraordinary courage and integrity as a journalist. Luis secretly shot rare footage in a military zone in China and in North Korea. He interviewed defectors and those who risked their lives to help them. Luis carefully documented the defectors’ journey as they risked being apprehended and sent back by the Chinese, jailed in Thailand, or forced into sexual slavery. Given the difficulty accessing these places and people, Mr. Ramirez’s compelling reports shone the media spotlight on an issue that has rarely been reported in such depth.