Journalists Maria ressa, from the Philippines, and Dimitri Muratov, from Russia, won this Friday the award Peace Nobel for their fight for freedom of expression, the Norwegian committee announced, thus recognizing for the first time the role of the independent press. Ressa and Muratov were awarded “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace,” he said. the president of the Nobel committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, in Oslo.
Ressa
Maria Ressa, 58, a former CNN journalist and co-founder of the online information page Rappler, has in recent years been the subject of several investigations, legal proceedings and has suffered intense cyberbullying. Rappler has published articles critical of the head of state, Rodrigo duterte, including his bloody and controversial fight against drug trafficking.
“Nothing is possible without facts,” said Ressa, after receiving the news of the Nobel Prize, and insisted that “it is the best time” to be a journalist. “The most dangerous moments are also the moments in which the work of journalist is most important,” he explained in an online interview broadcast by Rappler. Ressa, who also has American nationality, was already awarded in April with the Unesco World Press Freedom Prize / Guillermo Cano 2021, created in memory of the Colombian journalist Guillermo Cano assassinated in 1986.
“Journalism will test you mentally, intellectually, physically, morally,” said the reporter, who acknowledged that Rappler would not have survived without the support received in the last five years of harassment by the Philippine authorities. Ressa was voted Personality of the Year along with other journalists by Time magazine in 2018 for her fight against the misinformation of, according to her, the “sophisticated machinery” of fake accounts linked to Duterte’s environment to intimidate and silence critics.
The journalist, who faces seven criminal cases for alleged tax evasion and violation of media property laws, was convicted in June 2020 of cyberdefamation by a Philippine court. After being sentenced, she warned that “democracy is dying little by little” due to the rise of authoritarian and populist leaders such as Duterte and warned of manipulation in social networks, especially on platforms such as Facebook.
Muratov
Dimitri Muratov, 59, is one of the founders and editor-in-chief of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, and “has for decades defended freedom of expression in Russia in increasingly difficult conditions,” stressed the Nobel jury. Novaya Gazeta has brought to light “Corruption, Police Violence, Illegal Arrests, Voter Fraud, and ‘Troll Farms'”, the committee noted, issues for which it has paid a high price: six of its journalists were murdered, including Anna Politkovskaya, dead 15 years ago.
Muratov dedicated the award to them: “I cannot take credit for it. Novaya Gazeta. He is one of those who died defending people’s right to freedom of expression, “he said.” I would have voted for the person the bookmakers were betting on, and that person has his whole future ahead of him. I mean Alexei Navalni“, assured Muratov, on one of the main Russian opponents.
Following the announcement, the Kremlin praised the reporter. “We congratulate Dimitri Muratov, he works based on his ideals and is committed to them”, said Dimitri peskov, spokesman for the Russian Presidency ,. Peskov said that Muratov “has talent” and is “brave”, but did not clarify whether also the president, Vladimir Putin, will add to the congratulations. “We just found out, give us some time,” he replied when asked about it.
Novaya Gazeta was created in 1993 with the help of Mikhail Gorbachev, which precisely allocated part of the money he obtained by winning the Nobel Peace Prize three years earlier. “I congratulate a wonderful, brave and honest man, a journalist, my friend Dimitri Muratov,” said the former Soviet president after the announcement of the award.
“Call to action”
The award is not just a message to Russia and the Philippines, according to the Norwegian committee. “Of course we condemn the situation in these two countries especially, but I want to emphasize that we also condemn the situation in all countries where the activity of journalists is limited and where freedom of expression is under pressure, “stated Reiss-Andersen.
In 120 years of history, the Nobel Peace Prize winner had never recognized the work of an independent press that forces authorities to account and helps fight misinformation. “Free, independent and factual journalism serves to protect against abuses of power, lies and war propaganda,” insisted the president of the Norwegian Nobel committee.
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, called for a global effort for press freedom after congratulating Russian journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for having won the Nobel Peace Prize “While we congratulate the winners, let us reaffirm the effort for the right to press freedom, let us recognize the fundamental role of journalists and strengthen support for free and diverse media at all levels, “Guterres said in a statement. “No society can be free and fair without journalists who can investigate crimes, provide information to citizens, hold leaders accountable and speak the truth to power, “he said.
According to the latest annual classification of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) –one of the most popular organizations among potential Nobel winners – the situation of press freedom is problematic, difficult and even very serious in 73% of the 180 countries analyzed. The organization notes that 24 professional reporters have died so far this year and another 350 remain in jail. This award is “a call to action”, reacted the general secretary of RSF, Christophe deloire.
The award, which consists of a diploma, a gold medal and a check for 10 million crowns (980,000 euros), is usually awarded on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel (1833-1896). Novaya Gazeta informed that a part of the sum received will go to a charity fund that helps children with rare diseases. This organization, Krug Dobra (The Circle of Kindness) was founded in January at Putin’s initiative.
Ressa is the first woman to be awarded this year’s Nobel Prize. After the Peace Prize, the only one announced in the Norwegian capital, the Nobel Prize winners return to Stockholm to close the advertising season with the Economics award on Monday.
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