The Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 is awarded to journalists Maria Ressa from the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov from Russia. This honors their commitment to freedom of thought, the Nobel Committee said. Freedom of thought is the basic premise for democracy and lasting peace, said Committee Chair Berit Reiss-Andersen in Oslo.
Maria Ressa
Maria Ressa is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the news portal, Rappler. The 58-year-old, who worked as a reporter for CNN television in Southeast Asia, has faced several lawsuits in the Philippines. She herself sees the action of politically motivated justice. In 2020 she was convicted of defamation. Human Rights Watch hailed the judges’ decision as an attack on press freedom. “Nothing is possible without facts,” Ressa said after the announcement of the Nobel Prize.
Dmitry Muratov is a journalist from Russia and has defended freedom of the press in the country, the Nobel Committee announced. Muratov is one of the founders of the independent newspaper Novaja Gazeta. This newspaper is the most independent today in Russia with a critical attitude towards the powerful. Since the founding of the newspaper 6 of its journalists have been killed. However, Muratov has continued to defend freedom of the press, the Nobel Committee said in a statement.
Dmitri Muratov
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the only ones not awarded in Stockholm but in Oslo and is considered one of the most important political awards. This year there were 329 candidates, 234 personalities from all over the world and 95 organizations./DW
