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Russian and Philippines journalists win 2021 Nobel Peace Prize
Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa, journalists whose work has angered the rulers of the Philippines and Russia, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, an award the committee said was an endorsement of free speech rights under threat worldwide.
The two were awarded “for their courageous fight for freedom of expression” in their countries, Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen of the Norwegian Nobel Committee told a news conference.
“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.
“Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda.”
Muratov is editor-in-chief of Russian investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which has defied the Kremlin under President Vladimir Putin with probes into wrongdoing and corruption, and extensively covered the conflict in Ukraine.
When Reuters interviewed him six years ago, his office was across the hall from portraits of six Novaya Gazeta journalists killed since 2001, including Anna Politkovskaya, known for her fearless reporting on Russia’s wars in Chechnya, who was shot dead in her stairwell on Putin’s birthday in 2006.
Muratov, 59, is the first Russian to win the Nobel Peace Prize since Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev — who himself helped set up Novaya Gazeta with the money he received from winning the award in 1990.
Ressa, 58, is the first Nobel Peace laureate from the Philippines. She heads Rappler, a digital media company which she co-founded in 2012, and which has grown prominent through investigative reporting, including into large scale killings during a police campaign against drugs.
“Fighting a government is crazy: I didn’t set out to do it, but it became necessary in order to do my job,” she wrote in the Financial Times in December.
“I was arrested for being a journalist — for publishing truthful articles unpalatable to those in power — but this has only served to unshackle me, to help me understand what was happening and to chart the path ahead.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan announced on Tuesday the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle from prison.
According to the ministry, Coyle’s mother had written to the leader of the Islamic Emirate demanding amnesty and the release of her son on the occasion of Eid. The Supreme Court considered time served sufficient and decided to release him.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this action was carried out on the basis of humanitarianism and good faith, and it believes that such measures can strengthen trust between countries. The ministry also expressed hope that both countries, in the future, can find solutions to remaining issues through mutual understanding and constructive dialogue.
The Islamic Emirate also expressed appreciation for the cooperation of the United Arab Emirates in this matter.
Separately, for Coyle’s release, an American delegation, including Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, met on Tuesday with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate.
The meeting was also attended by Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi, Ambassador of the UAE in Kabul, and a member of the prisoner’s family.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muttaqi stated that the Islamic Emirate has not detained any citizen of any country to achieve political objectives; rather, detentions were the result of legal violations, and individuals were released after completing judicial procedures.
At the meeting, Khalilzad praised the action of the Islamic Emirate and emphasized the importance of continuing discussions on all issues between the two countries, expressing hope for further progress in the future.
Muttaqi also stressed that Kabul and the UAE should provide standard consular services to their citizens, and that the Afghan government is fully prepared in this regard.
He thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, for their constructive role in facilitating the release of the prisoner and referred to the UAE as a close friend of Afghanistan.
Earlier, Muttaqi had also praised the role of the State of Qatar in facilitating information exchange between the Islamic Emirate and the prisoner’s family.
Additionally, the UAE ambassador expressed his country’s readiness to play a role in humanitarian institutions and called such developments beneficial for everyone.
The United Kingdom has announced an additional £3 million (AFN 257 million) in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, aimed at supporting people affected by natural disasters and other shocks.
Richard Lindsay, in a post on X, said the funding will be used to provide essential nutrition supplies and related support to vulnerable populations.
The new allocation brings the UK’s total bilateral assistance to Afghanistan for the current financial year to £154 million (AFN 13.18 billion).
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