Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov win 2021 Nobel Peace Prize

Journalists Maria Ressa, of the Philippines, and Dmitry Muratov, of Russia, have won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, honouring the right to free speech which the prize-giving committee described as under threat around the globe.

The two journalists were given the award “for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia,” Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen of the Norwegian Nobel Committee told a news conference on Friday.

“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,” she added.

The prize is the first for journalists since the German Carl von Ossietzky won it in 1935 for revealing his country’s secret post-war rearmament programme.

“Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” Reiss-Andersen said.

Ressa, who founded investigative journalism website Rappler, has focused much of her work on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s
controversial and violent war on drugs.

“I am in shock,” Ressa told a live broadcast by Rappler after learning of the award.

Muratov founded the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in 1993 and has been its editor-in-chief for 24 years. It is today one of the very
few independent media outlets in Russia, and has seen six of its journalists murdered during that time.

Soon after the announcement, the Kremlin congratulated the Russian journalist despite the fact that his newspaper has often criticised Russian authorities.

“We can congratulate Dmitry Muratov,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “He persistently works in accordance with his own ideals, he is devoted to them, he is talented, he is brave,” he added.

Last year’s prize went to the World Food Programme for its efforts to combat hunger and food insecurity around the globe.

The prestigious award is accompanied by a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1.14 million). The prize money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.

On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize in physiology or medicine to Americans David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries into how the human body perceives temperature and touch.

The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded Tuesday to three scientists whose work helped explain and predict complex forces of nature, including expanding our understanding of climate change.

Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan were named as laureates of the Nobel Prize for chemistry Wednesday for finding an easier and environmentally cleaner way to build molecules that can be used to make compounds, including medicines and pesticides.

The Nobel Prize for literature was awarded Thursday to UK-based Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah, who was recognized for his “uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee.”

Still to come Monday is the prize for outstanding work in the field economics.