TEHRAN – Arash Khamushi, a photojournalist with the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), won third prize in the “Spot News Stories” section at the World Press Photo competition.
He received the award for his collection "Act of Forgiveness”, the organizers of the 58th annual World Press Photo competition announced on Thursday.
Khamushi’s collection depicts a murderer, who was pardoned by the victim’s family at the foot of the gallows in the northern Iranian city of Qaemshar on April 15, 2014.
French photographer Jérôme Sessini won the first and second prizes for his collections "Crime without Punishment” and "Final Fight for Maidan”.
Iranian photographer Fatemeh Behbudi also received an honorable mention in the category of "Contemporary Issues Stories”.
She was honored for her collection "Mothers of Patience”, which depicts mothers of some of the Iranian soldiers martyred during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
"Jon and Alex” by Danish photojournalist Mads Nissen was named the World Press Photo of the Year 2014.
The winners were selected from among over 5,600 submissions from 131 countries.