Controversial photo of political assassination wins 2017 World Press Photo of the Year

14 February 2017

The World Press Photo Foundation has announced the winners of the 60th annual World Press Photo Contest.

Turkish photographer Burhan Ozbilici has won the prestigious 2017 World Press Photo of the Year with a confronting image captured in the seconds after Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, was assassinated at the opening of an exhibition at an art gallery in Ankara. Off-duty police officer Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş shot and killed Karlov and wounded three other people before he was killed by officers in a shootout.

“It was a very very difficult decision, but in the end we felt that the picture of the Year was an explosive image that really spoke to the hatred of our times," explained jury member Mary F. Calvert.

"Every time it came on the screen you almost had to move back because it’s such an explosive image and we really felt that it epitomises the definition of what the World Press Photo of the Year is and means.”

Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, a 22-year-old off-duty police officer, is photographed moments after assassinating Andrey Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey, on 19 December 2016. He wounded three other people before being killed by officers in a shootout. Photo © Burhan Ozbilici, Turkey, The Associated Press, 2017 World Press Photo of the Year, First Prize Singles.

Not everyone agreed with the selection, with Jury member Stuart Franklin critical of the decision in an opinion piece published in The Guardian.

“An image depicting a premeditated murder, staged at a press conference to maximise publicity, is World Press Photo of the Year,” he wrote. “Placing the photograph on this high pedestal is an invitation to those contemplating such staged spectaculars: it reaffirms the compact between martyrdom and publicity.”

Franklin, who voted against the image, wrote: “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 2017 contest drew entries from around the world with 5,034 photographers from 125 countries submitting 80,408 images.
The jury gave prizes in eight categories to 45 photographers from 25 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Syria, New Zealand, Turkey, UK, and USA.

Australian photographers again featured prominently in the awards with Daniel Berehulak awarded first prize stories in the General News category, and Cameron Spencer awarded second prize singles in the Sports category.

The premier award carries a cash prize of 10,000 Euros and a selection of Canon camera equipment.

The prize-winning photographs are shown in an exhibition that travels to 45 countries and is seen by more than 4 million people each year.

See all the winners and awarded photos at: worldpressphoto.org

Inside the Philippines' Most Overcrowded Jail - Noel Celis Phillipines, General News, third prize singles — Quezon City Jail, one of the Philippines' most overcrowded prisons. Conditions are getting worse as police wage an unprecedented war on crime. There are 3,800 inmates at the jail, which was built six decades ago to house 800, and they engage in a relentless contest for space. Men take turns to sleep on the cracked cement floor of an open-air basketball court, the steps of staircases, underneath beds and hammocks made out of old blankets. Photo © Noel Celis, Phillipines, for Agence France-Presse, General News, Third Prize singles.

Funeral parlor workers carry away the body of Edwin Mendoza Alon-Alon (36) who was killed by an unknown gunman on the road in front of a 7-Eleven store in Manila, Philippines.
Photo © Daniel Berehulak, Australia, for the New York Times, First Prize, News Stories. — Funeral parlour workers carry away the body of Edwin Mendoza Alon-Alon (36) who was killed by an unknown gunman on the road in front of a 7-Eleven store in Manila, Philippines. Photo © Daniel Berehulak, Australia, The New York Times, First Prize, News Stories.

The Dive. Gaël Monfils of France dives for a forehand in his fourth round match against Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia, during the 2016 Australian Open at Melbourne Park, Australia, on 25 January 2016.
Photo © Cameron Spencer, Australia, Getty Images, Sports second prize singles. — The Dive. Gaël Monfils of France dives for a forehand in his fourth round match against Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia, during the 2016 Australian Open at Melbourne Park, Australia, on 25 January 2016. Photo © Cameron Spencer, Australia, Getty Images, Sports, Second Prize Singles.

Battle for Mosul, Felipe Dana Brazil, Spot News 3rd prize

Taking a Stand in Baton Rouge, Jonathan Bachman USA Contemporary Issues, first prize singles. — Lone activist Ieshia Evans stands her ground while offering her hands for arrest as she is charged by riot police during a protest against police brutality outside the Baton Rouge Police Department in Louisiana, USA, on 9 July 2016. Photo © Jonathan Bachman, USA, Thomson Reuters, Contemporary Issues, First Prize, Singles.

Rio's Golden Smile, Kai Oliver Pfaffenbach Germany, Sports 3rd Prize Singles — Usain Bolt of Jamaica smiles as he looks back at his competition, whilst winning the 100-meter semi-final sprint, at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo © Kai Oliver Pfaffenbach, Germany, Thomson Reuters, Sports, Third Prize, Singles.

Jockey Nina Carberry flies off her horse, Sir Des Champs, as they fall at The Chair fence during the Grand National steeplechase, during day three of the Grand National Meeting at Aintree Racecourse on 9 April 2016 in Liverpool, England. Photo © Tom Jenkins, UK, The Guardian, Sports, First Prize, Singles.