Two journalists from countries known for hostility toward the press received the Nobel Peace Prize for their work covering the Russian and Philippine governments.
The Nobel Committee awarded the prize Friday to Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”
WHY DIDN’T THE VACCINE MANUFACTURERS WIN THE NOBEL PRIZE?
Ressa founded the journalism website Rappler, which critically investigates President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs that has a “number of deaths … so high that the campaign resembles a war waged against the country’s own population,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. She faces numerous lawsuits from the government and threats of violence. At least 19 journalists in the Philippines have been killed since 2016, according to Rappler.
Muratov is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of one of Russia’s only independent news sources, Novaya Gazeta, which takes a “fundamentally critical attitude towards power,” the committee said. Six of the paper’s journalists have been killed since its founding in 1993.
“Despite the killings and threats, editor-in-chief Muratov has refused to abandon the newspaper’s independent policy,” the committee said. “He has consistently defended the right of journalists to write anything they want about whatever they want, as long as they comply with the professional and ethical standards of journalism.”
The Kremlin congratulated Muratov on his win, praise that is seemingly at odds with the government’s crackdown on the free press.
“He persistently works in accordance with his own ideals, he is devoted to them, he is talented, he is brave,” said a Kremlin spokesman.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
A record number of journalists were jailed because of their work in 2020, with at least 274 journalists sent to prison in relation to their work as of Dec. 1 of last year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. CPJ faulted “lack of global leadership on democratic values – particularly from the United States, where [former] President Donald Trump has inexhaustibly denigrated the press and cozied up to dictators such as Egyptian President Abdelfattah el-Sisi” for “perpetuat[ing] the crisis.”
