Diplomas and medals of Nobel Peace Prize laureates for 2021 were presented in Oslo to Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov and Filipino journalist Maria Ressa. The ceremony took place at the Norwegian capital’s city hall and was broadcast on the official YouTube channel of the Nobel Prize.
The laureates received Nobel medals and diplomas from the hands of Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. As part of the ceremony, Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov read the Nobel speeches. Maria Ressa was the first to speak. Dmitry Muratov quoted the Nobel speech of Academician Andrei Sakharov, who was awarded this award in 1975: “Peace, progress, human rights – these three goals are inextricably linked.”
Mr. Muratov announced that he is dedicating his award to “real journalism.” “This award is given to my dead colleagues from Novaya Gazeta – Igor Domnikov, Yuri Shchekochikhin, Anna Politkovskaya, Anastasia Baburova and Stas Markelov, Natasha Estemirova. This award is also given to living colleagues, a community that fulfills its professional duty, ”said Dmitry Muratov.
He initiated the creation of an international tribunal against torture, whose task is to collect data on the use of torture in different parts of the world and states. “To establish the executioners and their masters involved in such crimes. I hope, of course, first of all, for investigative journalists from all over the world. Torture should be recognized as a grave crime against humanity, ”said Mr. Muratov.
Also in his speech, he said that he was ready in his new capacity to help return people who were captured during the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Dmitry Muratov also mentioned criminal cases “on false charges,” which are often political in nature, including those against opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
Mr. Muratov recalled the murder of Russian reporters in the Central African Republic. “The Russian investigation has not achieved any results. And international too. UN Secretary General António Guterres promised to assist in the investigation. He probably forgot about it. Here, I remind you, ”said Dmitry Muratov. The editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta said that the murderers of Anna Politkovskaya received fair sentences, but the person who ordered the crime was not found, and the statute of limitations had expired. “I officially declare: the editorial board of Novaya Gazeta does not recognize this statute of limitations,” said Mr. Muratov.
At the end of his speech, he offered to honor a minute of silence for the journalists who gave their lives for this profession, and to support those who are being persecuted. “I want journalists to die old,” he said.
The full text of the speech was published on the Novaya Gazeta website.
Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 8 October “for their efforts to defend freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” Dmitry Muratov is the first Russian citizen to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In the USSR, it was awarded to human rights activist Andrei Sakharov and the first president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev.
The Nobel Prize Ceremony is held annually on December 10, on the day of Alfred Nobel’s death: the Peace Prize is presented by the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in the presence of the King and Queen of Norway in Oslo, the rest – by the King of Sweden in Stockholm.
Read more about the Nobel Peace Prize award in the Kommersant article “For Efforts to Protect Freedom of Expression”.
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