Journalists Maria Ressa, Dmitry Muratov win Nobel Peace Prize 2021

Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov win 2021 Nobel Prize for Peace (Image: Twitter/ The Nobel Prize)

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said 2021 peace laureates Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov are “receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia”.

It added: “The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureates Ressa and Muratov 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.”

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Since “free, independent, and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies, and war propaganda”, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said it “is convinced that freedom of expression and freedom of information help to ensure an informed public”.

It further said: “These rights are crucial prerequisites for democracy and protect against war and conflict. The award of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov is intended to underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights.”

Dmitry Muratov has for decades defended freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly challenging conditions. In 1993, he was one of the founders of the independent newspaper ‘Novaja Gazeta’.

Novaja Gazeta’s fact-based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information on censurable aspects of Russian society rarely mentioned by other media.

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Since the newspaper’s start, six of its journalists have been killed, the Nobel Committee said, adding that despite the killings and threats, the paper’s editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov has refused to abandon its independent policy. He has consistently defended the rights of journalists.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, too, has been using her freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence, and growing authoritarianism in her native country -- the Philippines. In 2012, she co-founded ‘Rappler’, which is a digital media company for investigative journalism.

As a journalist and the Rappler’s CEO, Ressa has shown herself to be a fearless defender of freedom of expression. Rappler has focused critical attention on the Duterte regime’s controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign.