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The Afghan police officer who killed Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus has been convicted and sentenced to death, the AP reported Wednesday.
Roses lay in front of a picture of the Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus, 48, who was killed April 4, 2014 in Afghanistan, in Paris, Saturday, April 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Police commander Naqibullah, who goes by one name, was given an additional sentence of four years for wounding correspondent Kathy Gannon, the AP reports.
RELATED: Some of Niedringhaus’ final images
Naqibullah surrendered shortly after the slaying, according to the report:
“Gannon and Niedringhaus traveled to Khost under the protection of Afghan forces and were at a district police headquarters in a village outside the city on April 4 when witnesses say Naqibullah walked up to their hired car, yelled “Allahu Akbar” — God is Great — and fired on them in the back seat with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. He surrendered immediately after the attack.”
The verdict is “subject to several stages of review”, and the president of Afghanistan must greenlight any execution orders, according to the article.
Niedringhaus was passionate about covering conflict. In her 2012 book “At War,” she said that covering war is “the essence of journalism,” and that she approaches each assignment with an eye toward personal storytelling.
“My assignment, regardless of the era, is about people—civilians and soldiers. The legacy of any photographer is her or his ability to capture the moment, to record history. For me it is about showing the struggle and survival of the individual.”
Shortly after Niedringhaus’ death, Poynter’s Kristen Hare reported, the International Women’s Media Foundation established an award in her name. The Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award honors women photojournalists who “set themselves apart by their extraordinary bravery.” Niedringhaus herself won laurels for professional bravery, receiving the IWMF Courage in Journalism Award in 2005.
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