IFJ congratulates Ressa and Muratov, first journalists to receive Nobel Peace Prize

PR, KalimNews, 8 October 2021: Filipino and Russian journalists, Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, were today announced as the winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize for "their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace". The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes the news and warmly congratulates the winners, saying that this award is a recognition of the crucial role of journalists around the globe, many of whom are faced with tremendous challenges to serve the public in their countries and the world.

Maria Ressa, a former CNN correspondent, founded an investigative website, Rappler, almost ten years ago, where she often denounced President Duterte’s security policies and extrajudicial killings in his anti-drug campaign. She suffered repeated police harassment and In June 2021, she received a jail term for a cyber libel case and is currently on bail pending her appeal against the decision. The IFJ supported her and had called on the authorities in the Philippines to drop all cases against her.

Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov (left) and Maria Ressa (right)

Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov founded an independent newspaper, the Novaja Gazeta, almost thirty years ago. Since then, six of its media workers have been murdered, including Anna Anna Politkovskaya, who was known as a critic of the Kremlin's war in Chechnya. The paper is known for its critical view of those in power and publishes articles about censorship, police brutality, elections fraud, and more.

The committee’s statement said "Maria Ressa uses freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines" and "Dmitry Muratov has for decades defended freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly challenging conditions."

The award comes with a gold medal and a cash prize of about $1.14 million.

Anthony Bellanger said: “The IFJ family sends its most sincere congratulations to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov on receiving this award and being its recipients in their profession. We welcome the Nobel Committee's recognition of the importance of freedom of the press and the role of journalism in the service of democracy and peace, especially at the moment when journalists' rights are under unprecedented threats globally".