Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov win Nobel Peace Prize for 2021

Stockholm, Oct 8: Journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for their courageous fight for freedom of speech in their countries.

The announcement was made on Friday by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, Norway. "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," a statement from the Swedish Academy said.

The Nobel Prize comes with a medal and prize sum of 10m Swedish krona (£836,000; $1.1m). The committee chose them among 329 candidates.

"Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is convinced that freedom of expression and freedom of information help to ensure an informed public. These rights are crucial prerequisites for democracy and protect against war and conflict. The award of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov is intended to underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights," the statement added.

Maria Ressa has effectively used the freedom of speech to expose the abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her country. She runs a digital media company for investigative journalism and has been critical of the Duterte regime's controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign.

Whereas Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov is one of the founders of the independent newspaper Novaja Gazeta. As the editor in chief of the publication, he adopted a fundamentally critically attitude towards paper under challenging conditions.