Anton Hammerl
Last night, during the World Press Photo Awards Ceremony, tribute was paid to wonderful and well-known photographers Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, who were killed in action in Libya on April 20. In her acceptance speech (of the WPP 2011 Award), Jodi Bieber asked the photographic community for support for another photographer, Anton Hammerl, who was seized by Libyan militia near the city of Brega on April 5 and has not been heard of since. Reuters: “Both the South African and Austrian governments ‘received simultaneous confirmation’ that the photographer, who holds dual SA-Austrian nationality, was alive. Austrian foreign ministry spokesperson Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal said they had two independent sources tell them he was alive and well.”
Jodi urges us to write about him, as a means to keep up the pressure for information on Anton’s whereabouts: “By writing about it, we’re going to keep him alive.” Click here for Jodi’s appeal. Also, see Facebook.