Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov are receiving the Peace Prize 2021 for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace .

In 2012, Maria Ressa co-founded Rappler, a digital media company for investigative journalism, which she still heads. As a journalist and the Rappler’s CEO, Ressa has shown herself to be a fearless defender of freedom of expression.

In 1993, Dmitry Muratov was one of the founders of the independent newspaper Novaja Gazeta. Since 1995 he has been the newspaper’s editor-in-chief for a total of 24 years. Novaja Gazeta is the most independent newspaper in Russia today, with a fundamentally critical attitude towards power.