ISTANBUL, (Reuters) – Iranian bloggers won a major  press award yesterday for their efforts to cover the Islamic  Republic’s disputed presidential election.

Iranian journalist Delbar Tavakoli, who fled the country  after losing her job, received yesterday the 2009 Mohamed Amin  Award on behalf of the bloggers “for their commitment, bravery  and dedication under harrowing conditions and extraordinary  pressure while covering the presidential election”.   “Iranian bloggers redefined the concept of citizen  journalism and social networking when they became the only  source of news in Iran post-election,” Christoph Pleitgen, head  of Reuters News Agency media business said in a statement.

Established in 1997 in honour of the late Mohamed Amin, a  legendary Reuters African cameraman killed in an airline  hijacking, the annual award typically honours individuals who  work behind the scenes. It is sponsored by Thomson Reuters.

Dozen of reporters, photographers and bloggers have fled  Iran or are still trying to leave for fear of retribution for  their reporting after June’s disputed election. Many journalists  were arrested while others have gone into hiding.

The Iranian government, which has closed down several  newspapers in recent months, has accused the media of lying  about the post-election protests.

“I dedicate this prize to the Iranian journalists who worked  hard to let the world know what is happening in Iran,” Tavakoli  said. “It is very hard to work as a journalist in Iran… The  main reason for this is censorship.”

“I want to go back to my country… I put down my pen  unwillingly for the first time in 13 years,” Tavakoli told  Reuters in Istanbul where she accepted the prize.  Born in Tehran, Tavakoli has worked as a journalist for the  last 13 years. Prior to the elections in Iran, she covered  women’s issues and tourism for the Sarmayeh and Etemad-e Melli  newspapers and served as editor of the Shahr News Agency.