Mattoo had said on Tuesday that he was stopped from going to the US at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport to receive the prestigious award.
Image Credit source: @javidtalk
American foreign Ministry An official of the US Pulitzer Prize Honored Kashmiri Journalist Sana Irshad Mattoo They are aware of the news of K.K. allegedly being barred from traveling to the country. Mattoo had said on Tuesday that he was stopped from going to the US at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport to receive the prestigious award.
Deputy Spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Vedant Patel “We are aware of reports that Ms Mattoo is being barred from traveling to the US and we are closely monitoring these developments,” said in a press conference. “We are committed to supporting freedom of the press and, as the Secretary of State says, respect for press freedom and a shared commitment to democratic values is the cornerstone of the US-India relationship,” he said.
Sana was part of the Reuters team
Independent photojournalist Mattoo was part of a Reuters team that has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize in the Feature Photography category for her coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urged the Indian authorities to allow Mattoo to travel to the US to attend the Pulitzer Prize ceremony.
‘Decision to stop journalist arbitrary’
Beh Lih Yee, CPJ’s Asia program co-ordinator in Frankfurt, Germany, said there was no reason on which Kashmiri journalist Sana Ershad Mattoo should have been barred from traveling abroad. He said, “This decision is arbitrary and excessive. Indian authorities must immediately stop all forms of harassment and intimidation against journalists covering the situation in Kashmir.”
New York was going to pick up the Pulitzer
Photojournalist Sana Irshad Mattoo had told on social media that she was stopped from going to New York ‘without giving any reason’. She told that she was going to New York to receive the Pulitzer Prize, but she was stopped at the immigration of Delhi airport. He had told that he also had a US visa and ticket, despite that he was not allowed to go to the US.
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