World Press Photo choice of winner is immoral - Russian embassy in Turkey

The Russian embassy in Turkey has lambasted the World Press Photo contest for giving the best photo of the year prize to the snapshot featuring the killer of Russia’s ambassador in Turkey, describing the decision as “a complete degradation of moral values”.

“The choice made by the World Press Photo jury is dumbfounding,” the embassy said in a statement. “It’s a great pity that anything seems to go when it comes to pursuing fame, even if it’s rotten.”

The photo in question, by Associated Press staff photographer Burhan Özbilici, captured moments right after Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, a 22-year-old off-duty police officer, shot dead the Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov at an art exhibition in Ankara, Turkey, last December.

It was also named the best breaking news photo.

The jury’s decision sparked controversy, as even the chairman of the contest Stuart Franklin said the photo shouldn’t have been allowed to win.

“This image of terror should not be the photo of the year – I voted against it,” Franklin wrote in a column on Guardian. “Özbilici’s is an impactful photograph, no doubt. Yet, while I was all for awarding it the spot news prize that it also won, I was strongly opposed to it becoming photo of the year. I narrowly lost the argument. I voted against. Sorry, Burhan. It’s a photograph of a murder, the killer and the slain, both seen in the same picture, and morally as problematic to publish as a terrorist beheading.”

The World Press Photo Foundation is a non-commercial organisation based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its awards are considered the highest honour in the field of visual journalism.