All about Maria Ressa, the journalist persecuted by the Philippine government who is the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner (and friend of Amal Clooney)

The Norwegian Committee announced this Friday the names of the winners of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. They are the Filipino Maria Ressay and the Russian Dmitry Miuratov. Both are journalists and both have denounced through their work the human rights violations committed in their respective countries. The one who has been president of the Philippines since 2016, Rodrigo Duerte, persecutes the professional in the same way that the government of Vladimir Putin does with Muratov. In 2020, Amal Clooney's law firm entered into a relationship with Ressa to legally represent her in the face of ongoing legal attacks from her country's government.

President Berit Reiss Andersen has explained the reasons why they have been chosen, compared to the more than 200 candidates against whom they competed -among which were the environmental activist Greta Thunberg or the WHO (World Health Organization)- : "Mrs. Ressa and Mr. Muratov represent all journalists who defend these ideals [freedom of expression, human rights and reporting abuses of power] in a world where democracy and freedom of the press are at odds to increasingly adverse conditions. In addition to recognizing "the brave fight both in the Philippines and in Russia", of both winners. The award will be presented on December 10, in the presence of the Norwegian royal family.

Ressa is the first female journalist to receive it and only one other media professional has won it in history. Carl von Ossietzky was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1935 for publicizing the rearmament program of his country, Germany. In the middle of the war, it was an act of bravery. In addition to the Nobel Prize, this same year Ressa has also received the World Press Freedom Prize awarded by UNESCO, for the same reason. We remember the trajectory of the journalist.

Born in Manila in 1963, Maria Ressa had to emigrate to the United States with her mother when she was only 10 years old. She began her university studies on the American continent, to finish them in the Philippines thanks to a Fulbright scholarship. The woman from Manila did not forget her origins; and she needless to say what she graduated in (Journalism). In the country where she witnessed her childhood, she managed to work for CNN itself, managing to direct it. But her destiny was written independently and, in 2012, she co-founded the Philippine outlet Rappler, along with other colleagues by profession. Among her priorities, she highlighted the denunciation of the human rights violations committed by the country's president, Rodrigo Duerte, since 2016, when he came to power.

Since then, she has always been in the crosshairs of the country's government, which recognizes Ressa as the culprit of all the information published about Duerte, as she is responsible for the Rappler website. She has faced accusations of foreign ownership —prohibited in the country— and tax evasion —punished by 10 years in prison—, to name a few. The attacks on her person and her harassment are constant, the result of government campaigns. But she has also found support, such as that of the international organizations Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International, which have denounced the attacks on freedom of the press to which this daring woman has been subjected. Another powerful female, Amal Clooney, joined her fight in 2020, defending her at the hands of her law firm. Now, with the Nobel Prize, she has reached the pinnacle of recognition for her work.