The Assassination of Kem Ley

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  SATOSHI TAKAHASHI, Japan
• Studio
  Freelance Photojournalist
• Website
  https://www.satoshitakahashi.info/
• Instagram
  https://www.instagram.com/satoshitakahashi_photography/

Cambodian prominent political analyst Dr. Kem Ley was shot dead in a cafe of Caltex gas station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on July 10, 2016, as he was having his morning coffee. He was also famous as a social activist and a critic of Hun Sen's autocratic government. That day, Cambodia has lost a voice of courage against dictatorship ahead of the communal elections, 2017.After his death, thousands of mourners took part in his funeral ceremony. The participants pay their respects to him under the famous slogan “Wipe your tears and continue your journey”.

Satoshi Takahashi is a Japanese photojournalist. Born in Akita Prefecture in 1981, he studied photography at the Department of Photography at Nihon University's College of Art. He started his career as a freelance photojournalist in Cambodia in 2007. In March 2019, he was awarded the 38th Domon Ken Award for his photobook RESISTANCE, which compiles work shot in Cambodia between 2013 and 2018. This is one of Japan's most prestigious awards for documentary photography, and the book has been added to the permanent collection of the Ken Domon Museum of Photography.