The Nobel Peace Prize 2021 was awarded on Friday 8 October to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitri Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. This is the first Nobel Peace Prize in the 120-year history of the award to recognize freedom of information as such.
Ressa is the CEO of Rappler, a media outlet critical of the regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, while Muratov runs the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Both have faced legal and physical threats during their careers as their respective governments have cracked down on journalists’ rights.
“Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairwoman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, in announcing the award in Oslo on Friday.
She said the couple was “representative of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world where democracy and press freedom face increasingly adverse conditions.” Reiss-Andersen added that the committee’s choice was intended to “underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights.”
Ressa, a former CNN bureau chief and TIME magazine’s Person of the Year, has been engulfed in legal battles in recent years and claims to have been targeted because of her news site’s critical reports on Duterte.
