Journalists Maria Ressa, Dmitry Muratov awarded Nobel Peace Prize for championing freedom of expression

Journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their fight for freedom of expression in countries where reporters have faced persistent attacks, harassment and even murder.

The Nobel committee noted that Ressa in 2012 co-founded Rappler, a news website that has focused critical attention on President Rodrigo Duterte's "controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign" in the Philippines.

Ressa was convicted last year of libel and sentenced to jail in a decision seen as a major blow to press global freedom.

Muratov was one of the founders in 1993 of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which the Nobel committee called “the most independent newspaper in Russia today, with a fundamentally critical attitude towards power.”

This is the first Nobel peace prize for journalists in 86 years.