Journalists Maria Ressa from the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov from Russia were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 8. In a video statement , Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announced that the committee had decided to present the award to the journalists for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression”.

The committee noted that Ressa “uses freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines”.

Ressa is the co-founder of Rappler, a digital media company for investigative journalism. In their official press release, the committee said that Rappler has focused critical attention on the Duterte regime’s controversial and murderous anti-drug campaign.

While praising Muratov, the committee said he “has for decades defended freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly challenging conditions.” Muratov co-founded Novaja Gazeta, a newspaper in Russia. According to the committee the newspaper’s “fact based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information.”