Journalist Maria Ressa is the first Filipino to receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, an award she shares with Russian Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov, reports said Oct. 8.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 to Ressa and Muratov “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace,” the statement posted on its website showed.
“Ms Ressa and Mr Muratov are receiving the Peace Prize for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia. 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 Committee said in the announcement.
It cited Ressa for using freedom of expression to “expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines.”
Ressa co-founded Rappler, a digital company for investigative journalism, in 2012.
The Nobel Committee recognized her for being a “fearless defender of freedom of expression”.
Muratov, on the other hand, is one of the founders of the independent newspaper Novaja Gazeta in Russia, where he has been an editor-in-chief for two years. – NND
