Addis Abab, October 8, 2021(Walta) – Maria Ressa from the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to safeguard freedom of expression.
They are “receiving the Peace Prize for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia,” the Oslo-based Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement Friday. “At the same time, they are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.”
The two will share the 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.1 million) prize, the first awarded for journalism since German reporter Carl von Ossietzky won in 1935.
Ressa has won wide international praise for investigations of alleged police abuses in President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug efforts. In June 2020, she was convicted of cyber libel charges initiated by a businessman who believes he’d been defamed by a report on his alleged links to drug smuggling.
Muratov is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, an investigative newspaper backed by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that has been a long-time source of hard-hitting reporting on Russia under Putin’s rule. It has paid a heavy price, with at least four of its journalists killed, including Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead on Oct. 7, 2006, Putin’s birthday.
(Source: Bloomberg)